Eric Dane has opened up about living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), formerly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in a candid new interview just months after he revealed his diagnosis.
Speaking to Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America on Monday, the Euphoria star said: “My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working.”
Dane, 52, said his left arm has been getting weaker, too. “I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering,” he said.
ALS, also known as motor neurone disease (MND), is an incurable condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and causes increasing muscle paralysis over time. Dane’s diagnosis of the progressive neurodegenerative disease came after months of testing. But his symptoms began well over a year ago when his right arm began to feel weak.
“I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” Dane told Sawyer. “I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued, but a few weeks later, I noticed it got a little worse. So I went and saw a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist. I went and saw a neurologist and the neurologist sent me to another neurologist and said, ‘This is way above my pay grade.'”
“I will never forget those three letters,” Dane continued. “It’s on me the second I wake up. It’s not a dream.”
Dane said his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has been incredibly supportive. “We have managed to become better friends and better parents,” he said. “She is probably my biggest champion and my most stalwart supporter, and I lean on her.”
Gayheart filed to divorce Dane in 2018. However, in March, she filed for the divorce petition to be dismissed. They share two daughters, one of whom recently had to rescue Dane from the water during a snorkeling trip when he realized he didn’t have enough energy to swim.
“She dragged me back to the boat,” Dane said. “I was like, breaking down in tears. I made sure she got back to the water with her friend and continued on with the snorkeling. I was just heart broken.”
Dane also shared that he’s experienced anger since his diagnosis.
“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 when they’re very young,” Dane said.
Despite his diagnosis, Dane is returning to film season three of Euphoria, in which he plays closeted and deeply troubled Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi’s high school quarterback Nate Jacobs. He also recently starred in Amazon Prime Video’s new series, Countdown, alongside Jessica Camacho and Jensen Ackles.
“In my heart, I don’t feel like this is the end for me,” Dane said on Good Morning America. “I’m fighting as much as I can. There’s so much about it that’s out of my control.”
Eric Dane shuts down question about ALS diagnosis, reveals which role made him feel like an artist
What is ALS and what are the symptoms and causes?
Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star Eric Dane reveals ALS diagnosis
Eric Dane shuts down question about ALS diagnosis
Robin Wright denied equal pay on Netflix hit because she hadn’t won an Oscar
Everybody Loves Raymond star explains why sitcom won’t ever be rebooted
