Meet Andy Arias of Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Arias.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Andy Arias. I am Latinx, queer, and disabled, and I use a wheelchair. I was born prematurely and spent a significant amount of time in the hospital before I could finally come home. Although I was born in the United States, my family is originally from Mexico. Early life was full of challenges, and at the age of six, I entered the foster care system.

The foster care system at the time was not equipped to support children with physical disabilities, and as a result, I spent periods of my childhood in state hospitals. Eventually, I was placed with a family who cared for me until I was about 17. During that time, I attended school but quickly realized I needed to work to support myself. Financial support and benefits were limited, and I had to cover my medical expenses, rent, and basic needs.

I started working early and found a path in advocacy, even while pursuing a career in acting and modeling. Over time, advocacy became a central part of my life, especially for people with disabilities and underserved communities. That work eventually led me to Washington, DC, where I began speaking directly with legislators about the needs and rights of individuals with disabilities.

From there, I moved into policy work and began gaining recognition at the federal level. While working as a marketing director and advocate at a law firm, I was offered the opportunity to move to DC permanently and serve as a policy advisor within the federal government. I spent almost eight years in that role, working across three administrations. I focused on equity, justice, and inclusive policy development, even during challenging political periods.
One area I’m especially proud of is my work on financial literacy and economic justice for people with disabilities. I helped develop policies and tools that improved lives across the country. After my time in government, I transitioned to a leadership role at a large East Coast university. I now manage programs there remotely, having moved back to Los Angeles during the pandemic. I’m also a national/international keynote speaker on diversity equity inclusion and policy.

Today, I continue to balance my passion for policy and advocacy with my creative pursuits. I’m still acting, and I hope to publish a memoir and a children’s book soon. My motto is simple: make the world a better place for everyone, not just for yourself.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey has been anything but smooth. What has carried me through, time and again, is my faith. There were moments when I struggled deeply with my identity, both as a person with a disability and as someone who is queer. I remember praying, asking God to let it be just one or the other, because I was afraid the world wouldn’t accept me for who I was. From a young age, I understood how ableist and homophobic the world is and that fear made it hard to embrace my whole, authentic self.

Over time, I’ve built a beautiful circle of friends who accept me. But that doesn’t mean the challenges are gone. Finding romantic and meaningful relationships with other men has still been difficult. I’ve also experienced trauma from people I trusted deeply. Those experiences, both physical and emotional, could have hardened me, but instead, I choose to hold space for compassion. I love those people from a distance, knowing that being close to them would only bring more pain.

My purpose is to leave a lasting mark that makes it easier for unicorns like me to thrive. The obstacles have shaped me, but they’ve also been a blessing. Without them, I wouldn’t have fought so hard to become the person I am today. I have so many ideas on how I want to change the world!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
While my career has primarily focused on academics and policy, my ultimate goal is to combine my work in policy and acting into one meaningful and robust platform. Media and policy are deeply interconnected. Policy cannot reach its full potential without strong storytelling and representation in media. And without sound policy, human development and equity are held back. That intersection means everything to me.

Suppose more people understood the depth of research, thought, and care that goes into developing policies and programs, especially those designed to support our most vulnerable communities. In that case, they might think differently about what they share online or how they treat others daily. Much of the division we see today comes from misunderstanding and fear.

My mission is to challenge and replace that fear with truth, compassion, and knowledge. I want to use my platform to show how love and understanding, backed by facts and lived experiences, can transform how we see each other. I want to make this world better for the young people coming up behind us.

We have enormous potential to create change, but too often we let ourselves be limited by our doubts or systems that were never built with us in mind. My work is about removing the curtain on misinformation and helping people see clearly to make informed and empowered decisions for their lives and communities.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
It’s challenging to list all my life’s mentors or sources of inspiration, mainly because there were very few. I call the individuals who impacted me in meaningful ways. I call them angels. One was my physical therapist, another was the incredible Judy Heumann, who many people know and admire, and a few were women I had the privilege of working for. What set them apart was their ability to see me for who I truly was. They accepted me without conditions and recognized what I had to offer.

Throughout my life, I’ve encountered many people who told me “no,” who dismissed my dreams of being an actor or a changemaker, or who didn’t believe in me. To give those individuals credit now wouldn’t feel honest.
But the spark of belief that those few angels gave me (however small) had a powerful impact. It helped shape my career and continues to fuel my aspirations. I’ve also drawn strength and inspiration from my friends. One of my closest friends is a quadriplegic from the neck down; we call her the manifester. She inspires me every day, and I strive to be like her in many ways.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: andyswheelz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actorandy.arias
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyarias1/
• Other: Tiktok: theandyarias

Image Credits
I don’t know or remember where a lot of these photos came from from the photographers. A lot of them were photo shoots of many different photographers.