Eric Dane: How the late Grey’s Anatomy star brought his heroic ALS fight to the screen

The Californian actor, who has died at age 53, never shied away from speaking out about his ALS diagnosis. Kevin E G Perry looks back at how he used a guest appearance on ‘Brilliant Minds’ to raise awareness of the motor neuron disease CultureTV & RadioFeaturesTRIBUTEEric Dane: How the late Grey’s Anatomy star brought his heroic ALS fight to the screenThe Californian actor, who has died at age 53, never shied away from speaking out about his ALS diagnosis. Kevin E G Perry looks back at how he used a guest appearance on ‘Brilliant Minds’ to raise awareness of the motor neuron diseaseThursday 19 February 2026 21:36 ESTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverEric Dane calls for accelerated ALS researchYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreIn October 2025, Eric Dane found himself back on the set of a medical drama. For six seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, the San Francisco-born star had made hearts race as a doctor dubbed “McSteamy”. This time, in an emotionally-charged episode of Brilliant Minds, he was playing a patient.Six months earlier, Dane, who has died Thursday at the age of 53, announced to the world that he had been diagnosed with ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neurone disease, is an incurable condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It causes increasing muscle paralysis over time, and life expectancy varies widely. On average, those found to have the condition live for between two and five years. Some, such as the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, have lived much longer.Dane vowed that the condition would not stop him from acting. In Brilliant Minds, he played Matthew Ramati, a firefighter whose pride prevented him from revealing his own ALS diagnosis to his family. In one scene, Zachary Quinto’s Dr. Oliver Wolf advised Ramati about his treatment options and the first responder reacted badly to the idea of spending his last days hooked up to a machine. “What’s it matter? Nobody survives this,” he says. “We both know that, and I know how to take care of my family.”In another powerful scene, Dane’s character recorded a message detailing how his thoughts about asking for help had changed. Afterwards, Brilliant Minds creator Michael Grassi recalled the show’s cast and crew giving the actor a 10-minute standing ovation. “I have never seen this happen in my entire career... it was so beautiful and so honest and so real,” Grassi told USA Today. “Also, while his character’s finding bravery, there’s a lot of bravery in Eric to tell the story as well. To come out and share this part of yourself is vulnerable but also really important, and I think raises awareness and shows people that they’re not alone.”open image in galleryEric Dane as Matthew Ramati, a firefighter with ALS, in a 2025 episode of ‘Brilliant Minds’ (NBC)Dane experienced tragedy early in his life. At the age of 7, while he was growing up in northern California, his father died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “He was a Navy man and ended up becoming an architect and interior designer. He was a troubled soul,” Dane told the Gulf Times in 2014. “My grandmother thinks [his death] was an accident. Everybody’s got a different opinion on it.”At high school, Dane was a water polo player who fell in love with acting after appearing in a school production of the Arthur Miller play All My Sons. After moving to Los Angeles, he made his television debut in 1991 as volleyball player Tad on teen sitcom Saved by the Bell and worked steadily over the next decade with regular roles in Gideon's Crossing and Charmed.It was Grey’s Anatomy, however, that made Dane a star. He was initially hired to play Dr. Mark Sloan for just one episode of the medical drama but he proved such a hit with audiences that turned into 140 episodes. His memorable appearance in the show’s third season, fresh from the shower wearing only a towel, helped cement his “McSteamy” nickname.open image in galleryEric Dane played Dr. Mark Sloan, known as ‘McSteamy’, for six seasons of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (ABC)Dane left Grey’s in 2012, and from 2014 to 2018 led the Michael Bay-produced action series The Last Ship, about the crew of a Naval destroyer after a pandemic has wiped out most of the world’s population. He also had a key role in the HBO se