‘Better Call Saul’ Star Russell Andrews, 64, Opens Up About Heart-Wrenching ALS Battle

Actor Russell Andrews, known for his role in “Better Call Saul,” has dropped a bombshell: he’s battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“I am a person living with ALS,” Andrews declared, standing strong with his fiancée, Erica Tazel, during an emotional segment on CNN’s “The Story Is with Elex Michaelson” this past Saturday.

Diagnosed in the late fall of last year, the 64-year-old actor shared the harsh reality of this devastating nervous system disease that wreaks havoc on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, as detailed by the Mayo Clinic.

Andrews and Tazel have found solace in the ALS Network, a nonprofit that has become their lifeline. “It’s been humbling,” he said, “but there’s also something in the fact that 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.”

Reflecting on his journey, Andrews revealed he first noticed troubling symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, mistaking them for a stroke. “It was a stressful time. We didn’t work for three years, about, and then we had the back-to-back strikes and so a lot was going on,” he explained, referencing the tumultuous 2023 actors’ strike.

“I was not able to do things that I normally do. 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 recalled, adding that he experienced unsettling “twitches.”

Tazel noticed changes too; she became concerned when it took her fiancé longer to clean the pool. “The way he walked, there were just subtle little things like that and I had questions. I was like, ‘Something is definitely wrong,’” said Tazel, 49, who starred in “Justified.”

After temporarily losing his insurance during the strike, Andrews wasted no time getting back to a doctor once coverage resumed. “Within 15 minutes, the primary care [physician] said she would like me to see a neurologist,” he recalled. “One thing led to another.”

While there’s no cure for his diagnosis, Tazel remains unwavering in her commitment. “There was not a sigh of relief, but some understanding of what was happening. And I looked at him across the room and I said, ‘At least now we know what it is, and I still want to be your wife,’” she shared.