Four days after actor Eric Dane revealed that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease, the San Francisco-born actor says he expects to return to work on the next season of “Euphoria.”
The “Grey’s Anatomy” alum, 52, said he will reprise his role as Cal Jacobs, even as he copes with living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
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“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” Dane said statement released to People magazine Thursday. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
The disease has a life expectancy of three to five years after the first symptoms appear, according to the ALS Therapy Development Institute. It causes muscle paralysis, with patients losing their ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently. There is currently no effective cure or treatment to stop the disease’s progression.
Dane, a graduate of San Mateo High School, has been married to actor Rebecca Gayheart since 2004, though she filed for divorce in 2018. On Wednesday, the day before Dane revealed his diagnosis, Gayheart announced that she had withdrawn her divorce filing, but didn’t say why, E! News reported. She also didn’t necessarily say that she and Dane were a couple again but explained to E! News: “We are best of friends. We are really close.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 03: Chrysalis Butterfly Ball Co-chair Rebecca Gayheart-Dane (L) and Actor Eric Dane with Georgia Dane and Billie Beatrice Dane at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball)
Gayheart also referred to their children Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13, while saying: “We are great coparents. We really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it, and we are as well.”
Meanwhile, Dane indicated that he’s still able to work and is “looking forward to returning to set of ‘Euphoria’ next week.”
Dane has a pivotal role in the hit HBO series as Cal Jacobs. He’s a wealthy real estate developer in the fictional town of East Highland, which is also populated by Rue, a recovering teen drug addict played by Zendaya, another Bay Area native.
AUSTIN, TX – JUNE 06: <> on May 6, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images for FIJI Water)
Cal is the strict, overbearing, abusive father of Jacob Elordi’s high school quarterback Nate and the overarching antagonist of the hit series. In one particularly intense Season 2 scene, Dane’s Cal had a meltdown over his own past family trauma, during which he symbolically urinated over his family foyer and Dane delivered a monologue while wearing a prosthetic penis, according to BuzzFeed News.
“I’m willing to do anything that’s critical to the story and crucial to creating a very real and truthful feel to how the story is gonna go down,” Dane told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “I just don’t see how you shoot a scene like that without showing nudity. And, you know, it kind of matches the stakes. The stakes are so high, you can’t hold anything back, really.”
Born in San Francisco, Dane’s architect father died when Eric was 7, and he and his younger brother were raised by their mother. Dane excelled at playing water polo in high school but turned to acting. He moved to Los Angeles and landed a number of small roles until his Hollywood breakout in 2005, when he was cast as handsome, charming plastic surgeon Mark Sloan in “Grey’s Anatomy.” His character was killed off in a 2012 plane crash.
Dane also starred in the TNT show “The Last Ship” from 2014 to 2018, though production was temporarily halted in 2017 so that Dane could deal with depression, Variety reported. “Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues,” a rep for Dane told Variety at the time. “He suffers from depression and has asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request. He looks forward to returning.”
Dane also recently wrapped filming for the Amazon Prime Video crime drama, “Countdown.”
