He shot to fame playing the chiseled Dr. Mark ‘McSteamy’ Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy but exclusive DailyMail.com photos show Eric Dane is now a shadow of his former self following a recent ALS diagnosis.
The stricken actor, 52, looked frail and thin while visiting a friend in Los Angeles where he lives with his actress wife Rebecca Gayheart and their two daughters.
Dressed in a loose cream cardigan, a white t-shirt and beige slacks, the Euphoria star looked a world away from the character that made him famous, and, at one point, was seen being propped up by his male pal.
Dane revealed the diagnosis in a statement to People magazine late last week, telling the outlet: ‘I have been diagnosed with ALS.
‘I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.’
Despite the diagnosis, the 52-year-old said he plans to continue working and will be back on the set of drama Euphoria – which co-stars Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya – this week.
Eric Dane, 52, looked frail and thin while visiting a friend in Los Angeles where he lives with his actress wife Rebecca Gayheart and their two daughters
The actor, known for his McSteamy persona on Grey’s Anatomy, disclosed on Thursday he had been diagnosed with ALS – a fatal degenerative illness that affects the brain and spinal cord
‘I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to the set of Euphoria next week,’ he added in the statement.Â
ALS – or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – is a fatal degenerative illness that affects the brain and spinal cord and is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball great who was diagnosed in 1939.
Early symptoms include muscle twitching, weakness and weight loss caused by the gradual loss of motor neurons – which control muscle movement – in the brain.
Over time, ALS patients lose the ability to speak, move and, finally, breathe on their own.
There is no cure for the condition and the majority of sufferers die within three to five years after being diagnosed.
Dane appears to be in the early stages of the illness and despite having lost a drastic amount of weight, remains able to move around independently
Most patients diagnosed with ALS pass away in three to five years as there is no cure for the disease
Dane appears to be in the early stages of the illness and despite having lost a drastic amount of weight, remains able to move around independently.Â
Last month, his wife Gayheart, 53, filed to dismiss their divorce after a seven-year separation and told E! that the couple were ‘the best of friends’.
Although the 90210 and Steel Magnolias actress attributed the decision to the couple being ‘really close’ in the March interview, the timing of the decision to dismiss the divorce suggests that Dane’s ALS diagnosis also played a role.
The actress said that staying together as a family and co-parenting daughters Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13, were also part of the equation.
‘We are really close. We are great co-parents,’ she told E! at a television screening early last month.
‘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.’
Despite the diagnosis, the actor said he plans to continue working and will be back on the set of drama Euphoria this week
Dane and Gayheart married in October 2004 in a ceremony in Las Vegas. She had previously been in a 13-year on-off relationship with director Brett Ratner, 56. Dane’s ex-girlfriends include Alyssa Milano, 52, and Lara Flynn Boyle, 55.
In 2009, the couple suffered an embarrassment when the now defunct Gawker website published a leaked home video of them naked with former Miss Teen USA Kari Ann Peniche using drugs.
Two years later, in 2011, Dane was admitted to rehab for over an addiction to prescription meds that came about after he suffered a sports injury.
In 2017, production on The Last Ship – the TNT TV series in which he starred as Commander Tom Chandler – was briefly halted so he could be treated for depression.
The following year, Gayheart filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, but the pair never went through with the split and are now back together after seven years apart.
Despite their ups and downs, both Gayheart and Dane have continued to work: Dane mostly on Euphoria, which also stars Jacob Elordi, although he has also completed a pending series called Kabul about the disastrous US pullout from Afghanistan in 2021 that left 13 service members dead.
Gayheart’s most recent credits date from 2019 and include a high-profile role as Brad Pitt’s wife in Quentin Tarantino thriller, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
 The Grey’s Anatomy days (2006-2012)
In 2005, he guest starred on the hit series Grey’s Anatomy and quickly got a full-time role on the show, partially due to his famous shower scene where he emerges from the bathroom with a ‘strategically’ placed towel
Fans quickly started to call him McSteamy, coinciding with another fan-favorite character Dr. Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepard, played by Patrick Dempsey. Dane stayed on the show until 2012
Dane at the 2007Â ABC Network UpFront event while he was on Grey’s Anatomy
The Last Ship and Grey Lady (2014-2018)
In 2017, Dane made the decision to put his looks and muscular physique to good use when he starred in the action film Grey LadyÂ
Dane also starred in the main role of Captain Tom Chandler in the TNT series The Last Ship, which ran from 2014 to 2018, though he briefly took a break in 2017 to treat his depression
Dane with his wife at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017. The pair have two children together: Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13
Euphoria and recent sightings (2019-2024)
Eric Dane in an episode of the hit HBO show Euphoria. He starred as Cal Jacobs, the father of Nate, who’s played by breakout actor Jacob Elordi
Eric Dane looked filled out in his grey Patagonia puffer as he went on a coffee date with a mystery woman at Verve Coffee Roasters in West Hollywood in January 2019
Dane maintained a healthy weight while hitting the streets of Saint Tropez with Gayheart and their two children in a photo posted to Instagram by his wife on August 21, 2022
Dane was noticeably slimmer than his St Tropez body at the premiere of Bad Boys: Ride or Die at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on May 30, 2024
Life with ALS 2025
On January 16, 2025, Dane was spotted looking gaunt on a date with actress Priya Jain in Los Angeles as they headed to dinner – giving the first signs of his failing health from ALS
Then on April 13, exclusive photos showed the star had lost a significant amount of weight while he was visiting a friend in Los Angeles, only three days after he had announced he had been diagnosed with ALSÂ
His wife Gayheart filed for divorce from Dane in 2018, but in line with his recent ALS diagnosis, she filed last month to dismiss the divorce, expressing they were still the ‘best of friends’ to E! News
