‘Insecure’ Actor Russell Andrews Breaks Silence on ‘Humbling’ ALS Battle

Russell Andrews has revealed he is battling ALS, a nervous system disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, that leads to paralysis.

The Insecure and Straight Outta Compton actor discussed his diagnosis during an interview last week on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.

With his fiancée, actress Erica Tazel, by his side — Andrews spoke publicly about his diagnosis for the first time.

“I am a person living with ALS,” he said. “I was diagnosed in the late fall of last year and it’s been humbling.”

The actor noted that the symptoms began with “twitches,” which made his hands unsteady.

“I was dropping cups and glasses at night. It felt like things were running up and down my arm at different times and it was the nerves,” he explained.

Related: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Eric Dane Loses Battle With ALS

He initially suspected he was having a stroke, saying he was under a lot of stress because of work stoppages in Hollywood during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023.

“It was a stressful time. We didn’t work for three years, and then we had the back-to-back strikes, and so a lot was going on,” he said.

Andrews is what’s known as a “working actor,” meaning he regularly books roles but is not rich. He said he lost his union health insurance during the strikes and put off going to a doctor.

Once he returned to work, his insurance resumed, and he immediately visited a physician.

“Within 15 minutes, the primary care [doctor] said she would like for me to see a neurologist,” he recalled. “One thing led to another, here we sit.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS affects the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. There is no cure and the disease is fatal.

During the interview, Andrews’ fiancée shared her initial reaction to the diagnosis.

“In a way, it was an answer to a lot of questions that we had,” said Tazel. “With this, we now know what it was.”

Andrews believes his illness may have been caused by sports injuries that caused trauma to his brain.

“I played football well into college and it appears that maybe CTE may be a source of this. We won’t know. Of course, you don’t know until everything’s said and done, they can study the brain, but those were signs that were missed,” he said.

Andrews and Tazel expressed gratitude that they are getting support from the nonprofit ALS Network.

“I walked into a family of very caring people I did not know a year ago, the cliché family, but they have not let us miss a step in terms of care, the attention, the awareness, and the ability to get me here today,” he said.

May is ALS Awareness Month in the U.S. You can watch the full interview here.