SCI Superstar: Tobias Forrest

The entertainment industry has been long known for being difficult to break into, especially if you have a disability, but people like Tobias Forrest are helping change that. Paralyzed since 1998, he decided to pursue acting as a career post-injury, undeterred by the difficulties that may lie ahead. And not only has Tobias been successful, having acted in several TV shows and movies, he’s now starring in his very first feature film, Daruma. Read on for his story of grit and determination.

Why He’s Fearless?

Born in San Francisco and raised in Hawaii, Tobias was raised by free spirited artistic people and was surrounded by music. Despite losing his parents at a young age, he was fortunate to have brothers and sisters who supported him, as well as adoptive parents. He went on to graduate from a military academy and decided to attend Northern Arizona university. It was shortly after college graduation when Tobias injured his spinal cord in a diving accident in the Grand Canyon at 22 years old.

“I had a C5 spinal cord injury diving off of a waterfall into shallow water at the Grand Canyon,” he describes. “No matter how hard I tried, I could not swim to safety. I could only sink further into the darkness feeling only my face as it occasionally brushed against the bottom. I was fully aware of what happened and the resulting lack of communication between my brain and body.”

Fortunately, Tobias was saved through the efforts of many strangers who were there that day. After being flown to the hospital, he was transported to the University of Miami hospital where he underwent months of rehabilitation. “Following that I did outpatient rehab and worked with a personal trainer at home. Five years after my injury, I had the opportunity to do locomotor training at UCLA, followed by locomotor training with Next Step in Los Angeles.”

After his injury, Tobias also returned to school to get his Masters in Psychology and attended Nova Southeastern University in Florida. It was here when he discovered acting. “I was assigned to portray someone with Alzheimer’s so I wrote a monologue. After performing it for my class, they all asked why I was not an actor. I reached out to my good friend, fellow quad and a fabulous actor named Danny Murphy who recommended I take an improv class.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

Soon Tobias found himself joining an improv troupe, and when he heard that the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation offered an acting scholarship, he had to apply. “I ended up winning the scholarship which was presented to me by Christopher Reeve at the Media Access Awards, putting me on the path to become an actor.”

What’s Next?

In 2003, Tobias made the decision to move to Los Angeles to start his career in acting, but he didn’t land on the silver screen right away. He was cast in several plays including “A Night at The Black Cat”, “Pyretown”, “Colossal” and more recently, the Pulitzer Prize winning play “Cost of Living.” Finally, Tobias landed his very first onscreen job doing background work on the TV show, “Malcolm in the Middle,” in 2007.

Proving he was a talent, he was cast to do similar work in both “Weeds” and “Six feet under.” Eventually, Tobias co-starred on “Weeds” and has gone to star in several other TV shows including “How To Get Away With Murder,” “The Defenders,” “Queen Sugar” and more with recurring characters on ”Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

Acting however isn’t the only creative outlet that Tobias has tapped into. He’s also a singer, which he credits to his health. “I think years of singing in a band as well as performing on stage has helped for both mental and physical health.” He was a vocalist in the band Cityzen for several years.

After working in the entertainment industry for several years, Tobias wants people to know the industry itself physically is not as inaccessible as it may seem. “I find that almost every set is actually accessible already. Cameras and equipment are on wheels and there are skilled carpenters available to build ramps.” He does interject however that one of the biggest issues still existing in Hollywood for actors with disabilities is the preconception that disability will create more work and cost of production.

“My own personal mental block and biggest hurdle might’ve been my efforts to avoid looking like I require more assistance or accommodations. However, not mentioning my needs is a disservice because I miss the opportunity to educate productions and make things easier for people on future projects. My disability also comes with the ability to adapt to multiple situations and the knowledge of how to overcome a variety of obstacles which is valuable information to share,” says Tobias.

Fortunately, his years of acting and working towards changing perceptions have finally come to fruition with Tobias landing a starring role in the feature film, Daruma, which premiered Nov. 18th, 2024, and made history for being the first feature film to cast two leads with disabilities with the storyline itself having nothing to do with their disabilities. “I think Daruma is a great opportunity to create conversations about authentic representation and inclusive hiring in entertainment. Furthermore, I feel that after folks watch this film, it could have the potential to encourage some to repair difficult father and daughter relationships through honest communication.”

Tobias plays “Patrick”, a somewhat self-loathing and destructive wheelchair-user who finds out he has a young daughter from a previous relationship. “He accepts the girl and the benefits of her inheritance only to discover that he’s a terrible father, not because of his disability, but because of his lifestyle. He’s then forced to enlist the help of his neighbor, a double armed amputee played by John Lawson to drive them across the country in order to drop the young girl off at her maternal grandparents.”

If you’re interested in moving to LA to try acting, here are some tips from Tobias. “My advice to anyone moving to California to pursue entertainment is to be as diverse and creative as possible by finding work and developing your own projects.” Even today, Tobias is still working towards changing the narrative of disability in Hollywood, which for him is his most fervent advocacy issue.

“Unfortunately there is a lack of employment opportunities for people with disabilities in entertainment and without authentic stories and representation, prejudices and assumptions about people with disabilities may never change. Everyone deserves to see a realistic version of themselves represented in the media as well as the opportunity to be employed at every level of this industry.”

In the meantime, Tobias recommends supporting Daruma and other projects that hire actors with disabilities to help make the changes that need to happen in Hollywood. “The best way people can support this film is to watch it where it’s available to rent on Amazon and Apple TV+. The only way we’ll be able to get more authentically cast content is to show a demand for it.”

— Follow Tobias
— Watch Daruma (on Amazon) or watch on Youtube