Eric Dane Says He Will Not ‘Concede’ in His Fight with ALS

 Actor Eric Dane continues to fight against ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in the public eye.

 “I’m not about to concede my purpose to some disease,” he said. “I just am not capable of doing that.” 

 The 53-year-old participated in a virtual roundtable on Dec. 2 to raise awareness about ALS and discuss his guest role on the NBC medical drama Brilliant Minds, where he portrays Matthew Ramati, a firefighter facing an ALS diagnosis.

The Grey’s Anatomy star revealed that he’s “fairly limited in what I can do physically as an actor,” but because he still has control of his brain and speech, he’s “willing to do just about anything” and “take on any role.”

He added: “From here on out, it’s going to have to be ALS-centric. It’s going to be very difficult for me to play any other role. I’m fine with that. I’m grateful that I can still work in any capacity.”

ALS is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. ALS is also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with it in the 1930s. There is no cure for ALS.

Dane said he found many similarities with his Brilliant Minds character in his real-world fight against the disease and admitted there were “moments it was difficult for me to get the lines out,” but he was “really grateful for the experience.”

Further along in the conversation, the Euphoria star said there’s “no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day” because of his diagnosis.

“I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets and spent the next two weeks crying,” he said. “But I think it’s imperative that I share my journey with as many people as I can, because I don’t feel like my life is about me anymore. And it’s something I’ve had to wrestle with because I’m a pretty selfish person, and I’d love for my life to be all about me, but I just can’t … I don’t think I’d be able to move forward if that were the case.” 

He wants to continue making others cognizant of “what ALS is and what it’s about and, more importantly, what we can do to combat it and improve the landscape.”

In June, Dane told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America that the right side of his body has “completely stopped working” and his left arm is “going.” “I feel like maybe a couple, few more months, and I won’t have my left hand either,” Dane said, adding he was “worried” his legs might stop functioning soon.

Dane said he first realized something was wrong when he started experiencing “weakness” in his right hand. He didn’t think anything of it and attributed it to “texting too much” or “fatigue.”

“But a few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse, so I went and saw a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist,” the actor recalled.

AARP has information available on how to care for someone living with ALS.