As a staple of the ABC schedule since 2005, it's hard to imagine a time when Grey's Anatomy isn't in our lives.
Season 22 is just around the corner, and while it's changed a lot from its early days, Ellen Pompeo is said to return for a larger role as Meredith Grey this time around.
Of course, this isn't just Pompeo's show, with Grey's Anatomy helping boost the careers of Sandra Oh, Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, and more. It's always been an ensemble piece of complicated characters, with Eric Dane's Mark Sloan being a particular highlight of the show's 'peak'.
Although Dane first arrived on the scene as the smooth McSteamy in season 2, he wouldn't become a series regular until season 3 – carrying through to the start of season 9.
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Sadly, Dane has opened up about his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, with the tragedy being shared in a TikTok video from U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California.
Known for his roles in Grey's Anatomy, Charmed, and Euphoria, the 52-year-old announced his ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) diagnosis in April 2025.
ALS is a rare terminal neurodegenerative disorder that affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
The loss of signal causes muscles to weaken, twitch, and eventually fade away, and with there being no cure, ALS is a currently terminal diagnosis.
Dane said he started experiencing symptoms in early 2024, but by June 2025, he'd lost the use of his right arm and hand.
Vowing to fight "until the last breath," Dane accompanied the nonprofit I AM ALS organization to meet with U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey in Washington, DC. The purpose of the visit was to fight for the reauthorization of the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act.
According to CNN, the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act was passed in 2021, with the outlet explaining how it offered five years of research funding and allowed early access to ALS treatments until 2026.
In the video shared by Swalwell, Dane said: "ALS is the last thing they want to diagnose anybody with. So often, it takes all this time for these people to be diagnosed, well, then it precludes them from being a part of these clinical trials.
"That's why ACT for ALS is so so great, and it's because it broadens the access for everybody."
Sharing two young daughters with actor Rebecca Gayheart, Dane continued: "I have two daughters at home. I want to see them, you know, graduate college, and get married and maybe have grandkids.
“You know, I want to be there for all that. So I'm going to fight to the last breath on this one."
Gayheart previously spoke to People and admitted the family has been suffering since her husband's diagnosis: "We have some professional therapists who are helping us, and we're just trying to have some hope and do it with dignity, grace and love.
Responding to the TikTok, one fan lamented: "He is declining so fast this hurts my heart."
Another added: "Oh be still my heart💔 Eric Dane we see you and we hear you."
A third said: "This is hurting me the way Bruce Willis and Michael J Fox are hurting me. To hear him already have speech deficits…. It’s progressing too fast 😞."