Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star Eric Dane has revealed he plans to keep acting after his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Dane, 53, appeared in an episode of NBC drama Brilliant Minds, his first on-screen role since announcing his diagnosis in April. His character was a firefighter struggling to share his ALS diagnosis with his wife. On Tuesday, Dane was a guest on a virtual panel hosted by the I AM ALS organization. “I’m fairly limited in what I can do physically as an actor, but I still have my brain, and I still have my speech, so I’m willing to just do about anything. I’ll take on any role,” Dane said. However, he said the neurodegenerative disease will limit his choices. “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.” Dane said he had surprised himself with how well he was dealing with ALS. “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. “And I was a little bit pleasantly surprised when I realized that I wasn’t built like that, because I thought, for sure, that was gonna be me.” The actor said he was keen to inspire other people, noting, “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.” There is currently no cure for ALS, which causes progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain.
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