Eric Dane’s Stunning First Symptom That Led To ALS Diagnosis In 2025

Eight months before his passing from ALS, Eric Dane opened up about how the fatal disease had limited his life and the first symptoms he experienced.

The actor famously starred as Dr. Mark Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy and Cal Jacobs in Euphoria. He was also known for Charmed, The Last Ship, and Countdown.

Dane’s family announced in a statement that he passed away on Thursday (February 19) “following a courageous battle with ALS.” He was 53.

Late actor Eric Dane shared in an interview months before his passing that he initially overlooked his first ALS symptom

Image credits: Pief Weyman/Getty Images

“He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world,” the statement read.

The actor announced his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in April 2025.

In June, he told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America that he initially downplayed the first symptom of the condition.

Image credits: Good Morning America

“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand, and I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” Dane said.

“I thought maybe I had been texting too much or my hand was fatigued. But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse.”

The father of two explained that he went from one hand specialist to another until, nine months later, he was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.

Dane, known for Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, passed away from ALS on February 19

Image credits: Good Morning America

“I will never forget those three letters,” he said. “It’s on me the second I wake up.”

Dane explained that his right arm had “completely stopped working” since his diagnosis and that his left arm was “going” and had “a few more months” of function left.

“It’s sobering,” the Grey’s Anatomy star said, adding that he was “worried” about losing function in his legs as well.

Image credits: Good Morning America

ALS is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to loss of muscle control, the Mayo Clinic explains. The disease—also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—worsens over time, and there is no known cure.

According to the clinic, ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing, or slurred speech. Eventually, it affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat, and breathe.

The actor, who played water polo, found himself unable to swim and was rescued by his daughter during a family boat trip

Image credits: Good Morning America

Dane, who played water polo in high school, revealed that he also felt the effects of the progressive illness when he tried to swim during a boat trip with his daughters.

After jumping into the ocean, he realized that he couldn’t “swim or generate enough power to get [himself] back to the boat,” so one of his daughters had to rescue him, which he called “heartbreaking.”

Dane began using a wheelchair full-time by October 2025. Asked how “angry” ALS made him, he responded, “Very.”

“I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young, and now there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young.” Dane’s dad took his own life when the actor was 7.

The Marley & Me star shared two daughters, Billie and Georgia, with actress and model Rebecca Gayheart, whom he married in 2004.

Dane said he was “angry” about the illness and at the thought of “being taken away” from his teenage daughters

Image credits: Marvin Joseph/Getty Images

Dane said he leaned on Gayheart after being diagnosed with the fatal illness, calling her his “biggest champion and most stalwart supporter.”

He and Gayheart separated in 2018, but she filed to have the divorce dismissed in March 2025 amid his battle with the illness. 

The Valentine’s Day actor told Diane Sawyer that he remained optimistic about his future despite his symptoms.

“I don’t think this is the end of the story,” he said. “I just don’t feel in my heart like this is the end of me. I’m fighting as much as I can.” Still, he acknowledged that how ALS progressed was “out of [his] control.”

After his diagnosis, Dane became an advocate for ALS awareness and research. In December, he joined the board of directors of Target ALS, an organization dedicated to researching a cure for ALS, and helped surpass a fundraising target of $500,000.

Dane began acting in a school production of Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons. “I was a water polo player in high school and my season was short, and I ended up getting roped into playing Joe Keller in All My Sons. And I fell in love with it,” he told Gulf Times.

Patrick Dempsey, who co-starred with Dane in Grey’s Anatomy, said he was a “joy to work with”

Image credits: ABC

The biggest role of his career was as charming surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan, or “McSteamy,” on the successful ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which he played from 2006 to 2012, before returning for a cameo in 2021.

His Grey’s Anatomy co-stars led tributes to the late actor. Patrick Dempsey, who played Dr. Derek Shepherd, described him as being “a joy to work with” and “wickedly intelligent.”

“He was the funniest man – he was such a joy to work with and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it. He had a great sense of humor,” Dempsey told Virgin Radio.

Kim Raver also paid tribute to her late co-star and his “perfect comedic timing”

 

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Kim Raver, who plays doctor Teddy Altman, said, “During filming he’d get this twinkle in his eye and with a mischievous look, he would deliver with perfect comedic timing, a line of dialogue that would floor you.”

Krista Vernoff, the series’s executive producer, said Dane gave “the best hugs”

Image credits: Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

 

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Longtime executive producer Krista Vernoff shared screenshots of a conversation when she asked Dane to return to the series for a cameo. “The thing I will remember most about Eric Dane are his hugs. The best hugs. Oh my friend. I wish you peace,” she wrote.

Sam Levinson, the creator of Euphoria, wrote, “Working with him was an honor. Being his friend was a gift”

Image credits: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Euphoria creator Sam Levinson told Variety that he was “heartbroken by the loss of our dear friend,” adding, “Working with him was an honor. Being his friend was a gift.”

Nina Dobrev said the late star was “warm and generous” and called ALS a “cruel and unforgiving disease”

Image credits: nina

Image credits: nina

Nina Dobrev, who co-starred with Dane in the 2022 film Redeeming Love, said he “led with kindness and made everyone on our set feel seen.”

“He was warm, generous, prepared, and so passionate about what he did,” the actress wrote on Instagram. “ALS is a cruel and unforgiving disease. May his memory inspire more research, awareness, and progress toward a cure.”

In the statement released Thursday, his family wrote that Dane “will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always.” 

They asked for privacy as they grieved his loss and said the San Francisco-born actor “adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”

“My heart goes out to his family,” one fan wrote, while others celebrated Eric Dane’s legacy

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