Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane respectfully side-stepped a question about his recent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis while discussing his career in a new interview.
Dane, 52, who in April revealed he was diagnosed with the incurable progressive neurodegenerative disease, was speaking to Variety about his new crime drama series, Countdown, when he was asked how it felt sharing the health news publicly.
“With real respect, I really don’t want to talk about it. I made the announcement. That’s what’s going on with me,” the actor said. “It’s very personal to me. And I just want to keep talking about Countdown.”
Dane stars in Amazon Prime Video’s new series, Countdown, alongside Jessica Camacho and Jensen Ackles. The show, premiering June 25, follows a former LAPD officer who joins a secret task force to investigate a suspicious murder. Instead, he uncovers a sinister plot that requires the team to unite and save the city.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dane identified the first role that made him feel like a true artist.
“I’ve always had a profound respect for the craft of acting, but I never considered myself an artist. I could never admit it, until I started making Euphoria,” Dane said. “That’s when I gave myself the allowance to feel like I was an artist.”
Dane portrays closeted and deeply troubled Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi’s high school quarterback Nate Jacobs, in Sam Levinson’s gritty teen drama.
The forthcoming third season of the hit HBO series will welcome the return of Cal, who was last seen in the season two finale being taken away by police in handcuffs after Nate turned him in for his sex crimes.
Asked if viewers could expect to see Cal undergo a redemption arc in season three, Dane insisted: “Listen, I don’t know anything. I haven’t seen a script. We get pages maybe a day or two before, but it’s all kept on the D.L.
“I just have so much trust in Sam Levinson that I don’t really need to know what’s happening. On the day, he can just tell me what to do and where to go, and I’m good with it.”
Dane first rose to fame for his starring role as Dr. Mark Sloan in the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. His character appeared from season two through season eight, before his tragic death in the season nine premiere.
“It’s pretty funny. I loved making that show. I loved the excitement around that show when we were working on it,” he said, reflecting on his six-season run on the show. “And the original cast and myself, we gave it a good foundation for it to live as long as it has — and that’s a testament to Ellen Pompeo and to Shonda Rhimes and her writing team.”
