Episode 60: Danny J. Gomez - Acting in Hollywood with a Spinal Cord Injury

About this episode

Danny J. Gomez discusses his journey as an actor with a spinal cord injury and the importance of representation in Hollywood.

It's not every day you see an actor with a spinal cord injury on the big screen, but thanks to actors like Danny J, Gomez, a paraplegic from Los Angeles by way of New Orleans, it's becoming more common and that's a great thing for the disability community. In this episode, we chat with Danny not only about his acting career, which began in 2018, just two years after his spinal cord injury, but his journey, including his injury story and how he was able to secure an acting scholarship from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. His acting credits include NBC's "New Amsterdam," "NCIS: Hawai'i," "The Deadline" (a short film) and multiple commercials. He also shares what it's like working on-set in a wheelchair, getting his accessibility needs met, auditioning as someone with a disability and his experiences creating films for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, which highlights shorts made and acted by people with disabilities that challenges disability stereotypes. Episode runtime is 30 minutes. — Follow Danny — The Deadline short film — Rocky Monologue — Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

People in this episode

Guest: Danny J. Gomez

Topics covered

• acting
• spinal cord injury
• disability representation
• accessibility
• film

Keywords

• paraplegic
• acting career
• Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
• Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: New Amsterdam, NCIS: Hawai'i, The Deadline, Rocky Monologue

Places: Hollywood, Los Angeles, New Orleans

More episodes of Life After Paralysis with Tiffiny Carlson

• Episode 67: Art Aston on Spina Bifida, Building Accessible Playgrounds and Disability Awareness Advocacy · May 21, 2026 · 36 min
• Episode 66: Holden Howell, Newly Injured College Student Creates Accessible Workout Routine That Can Be Done in Any Gym · March 13, 2026 · 31 min
• Episode 65: Paralyzed 44 Years, Rick Futia Shares "Rockstar Life" in New Book · February 18, 2026 · 35 min
• Episode 64: 'Never Give Up' Travis Iverson, Fashion Entrepreneur & Quadriplegic · January 23, 2026 · 30 min
• Episode 63: Lifelong Quadriplegic Alex Jackson, South Carolina Disability Advocate & Public Affairs Specialist at Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic · November 25, 2025 · 33 min
• Episode 62: Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD - Universal Design Expert · September 18, 2025 · 33 min