What disease does Eric Dane have? Actor opens up about health struggles, claims "it's imperative" he shares his journey

Actor Eric Dane cemented himself as a household name thanks to his many memorable roles over his expansive acting career. The Grey’s Anatomy alum has sadly been struggling with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly referred to as ALS

On the heels of appearing on an episode of Brilliant Minds where his performance tapped into his diagnosis, Eric Dane recently opened up about how he’s dealt with his sickness.

"I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day, I don't think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying.”

The actor went on to add,

"And I was a little bit pleasantly surprised when I realized that I wasn't built like that, because I thought for sure that was gonna be me."

Eric Dane then clarified his reasoning for choosing to be vocal at this time, as he has been careful to maintain his privacy since discovering he was suffering from ALS.

"I make sure that people are aware of what ALS is and what it's about, and more importantly, what we can do to combat it and improve the landscape, because it's so rocky and littered with hurdles and bureaucracy and all this other nonsense that we're trying to sift through so we can get to a place where we go, start working on solution."

Eric Dane - Powerful Brilliant Minds performance

In his recent appearance on Brilliant Minds, Eric Dane drew from his own heartbreaking experiences with ALS, when he was tasked to play a firefighter who suffered from the same prognosis. His performance was so vivid and real that the show’s creator, Michael Grassi, shared the following with USA Today about a scene where Dane pleads for help in fighting the disease.

"I have never seen this happen in my entire career, but he essentially got a 10-minute standing ovation after shooting that scene. Because it was so beautiful and so honest and so real."

Grassi added,

“While his character’s finding bravery, there's a lot of bravery in Eric to tell the story as well. To come out and share this part of yourself is vulnerable but also really important, and I think raises awareness and shows people that they're not alone.”

While the debilitating nature of Eric Dane's diagnosis has been challenging for the actor to navigate, it seems that he is finding his footing as he continues to fight back against the disease.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback