Canadian actor Kenneth Mitchell, who continued working after ALS diagnosis, dead at 49

Toronto actor Kenneth Mitchell who found consistent work in television and film, even after a 2018 diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has died. He was 49.

Mitchell's family said in a post on his Instagram account that the actor from Star Trek: Discovery and Jericho died on Saturday.

"For five and a half years, Ken faced a series of awful challenges from ALS. And in truest Ken fashion, he managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment, to living a full and joyous life in each moment," the statement read. "He lived by the principles that each day is a gift and we never walk alone."

After experiencing health problems and wondering if he shared his mother's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Mitchell was told in August 2018 he was suffering from ALS.

Mitchell told People Magazine in 2020 it was a moment of "complete disbelief," and like "watching that scene where someone is being told that they have a terminal illness." 

Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, after the 1930s New York Yankees star, the disease destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord needed to walk, talk, swallow and, eventually, breathe. Most people suffering with ALS die within a few years of diagnosis.

By the year following his diagnosis, he was using a wheelchair. In Star Trek: Discovery, he portrayed Aurellio, a scientist who uses a hovercraft wheelchair, and in the Hulu series The Old Man starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, he played an FBI agent who uses a wheelchair.

Mitchell told People it was "empowering" to be able to continue to work.

"Although it feels more challenging, people are accommodating and making it work," he said. "They do it in a way that they don't ever make me feel like I'm dragging things out or a hindrance or anything."

In addition, a 2022 episode of Star Trek: Discovery featured a USS Mitchell spacecraft named in his honour.

Mitchell's path to the screen was unlikely, as he told the Guelph Mercury in 2004. After attending Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto, he attended the University of Guelph for landscape architecture studies. After finding work in Guelph and Toronto after university, a friend introduced him to an agent.

After appearing in commercials and an independent productions, one of Mitchell's first career breaks was in a recurring role in the Showtime series Leap Year and Odyssey 5, which were both shot in Canada.

Along with guest spots on shows like Grey's Anatomy and CSI: Miami and a small but pivotal role as one of the last players cut on the storied 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team in the film Miracle, he also landed a supporting role in the Colin Farrell-led The Recruit.

By that point, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue work.