Eric Dane, 52, who played a heartthrob doctor on Grey’s Anatomy, has just opened up on exactly why he cancelled his Emmy Awards gig.
Dane, known as “McSteamy” on the long-running drama, was scheduled to present at the TV awards show in mid-September with former Grey’s co-star Jesse Williams, and then he had an accident.
Fans had wondered why he was absent, but he cleared up the confusion in a Thursday interview with The Washington Post explaining that he had a hard fall in his kitchen due to his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis.
“ALS is a nasty disease… So I was in the hospital during the Emmys getting stitches put in my head,” Dane said.
Dane, who opened up publicly to People about his battle with the neurodegenerative disease in April, said he was “upset” that the hospitalization caused him to miss the reunion.
“I missed an opportunity I was really looking forward to. It would have been great to see Jesse and get reunited with some of my peers, and to be able to present in front of my colleagues I thought would have a been special moment,” he said. “So I was a really upset about it, but you know, there was nothing I could do about it.”
The incurable disorder mainly affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing symptoms like muscle weakness and respiratory failure.
The Euphoria actor, who had a starring role for six seasons in Grey’s Anatomy, first noticed symptoms in early 2024 when one of his hands felt inexplicably weak.
On Wednesday, Daily Mail obtained images showing Dane in a wheelchair at a Washington, D.C. airport.
An insider told the outlet that Dane “has leaned on his Jewish faith to get through it all, it has been his family and friends that have really stepped up and have made him feel loved.”
The actor revealed in a Sept. 15 post on Instagram that he’s helping to launch a campaign, Push for Progress, to “accelerate ALS research, expand access to treatments, and secure $1 billion in federal funding for ALS over the next three years,” according to the caption.
He told The Washington Post that he wants to help others as he battles the disease.
“Not to be overly morbid,” he added, “but you know, if I’m going out, I’m gonna go out helping somebody.”
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