'Grey's Anatomy' Star Eric Dane Passes Away at 53 — Details

A Rare Appearance That Shook Fans

The actor opened up in a December 4, 2025, virtual panel about portraying a firefighter with ALS in the NBC drama "Brilliant Minds."

"It was hard, and there were moments where it was very difficult for me to get the lines out," Dane said in the Entertainment Tonight interview. "I've never played a character who's going through something I'm dealing with in real time, in real life as well."

During the panel, his speech was noticeably strained — a heart-stopping reminder of the disease's relentless progression. "I'm fairly limited in what I can do physically," he shared. As mobility issues grew, showrunners adapted his scenes so he performed most of them while seated.

One subtle detail viewers may have noticed was that Dane chewed gum in certain scenes. According to him, it was more than an acting choice.

"The director said, 'We're going to pick a couple [of] scenes where he's chewing gum.' It came to kind of in the moment," recounted Dane recounted, explaining that chewing gum helped alleviate symptoms like brain fog.

Using His Voice While He Still Can

Even as the disease tightened its grip, Dane stressed his mission: raising awareness. "You want to make sure that people are aware of what ALS is and what it's about and more importantly what we can do to combat it," he noted.

The father of two teenage daughters also revealed that he had completed work on two additional series, including the third season of HBO's "Euphoria," after receiving his terminal diagnosis.