Eric Dane shared candid insights about his life and his struggle with hopelessness in the wake of the ALS diagnosis he made public in April, but said he surprised himself by maintaining a “buoyant” attitude.
“I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day,” the “Euphoria” and “Grey’s Anatomy” star said during a Giving Tuesday virtual conversation. “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.”
“I was a little bit pleasantly surprised to realize that I wasn’t built like that,” Dane added. “I thought for sure that was going to be me.”
The 53-year-old has become an ambassador for I AM ALS, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to raising awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is often called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and helping families and those affected by it. In June, Dane revealed that he only had one functioning arm as a result of the disease.
While he is aware of the overwhelming despair that he could give into as a result of his ALS struggles, Dane said he has found new purpose in being as open and honest about his life as possible moving forward. He noted that he wants to help make sure people are properly informed about ALS, its symptoms and, most importantly, “What we can do to combat it and improve the landscape.”
“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,” the actor revealed. “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.”
Dane reflected on the current state of ALS treatments around the world right now, adding, “It’s so rocky and littered with hurdles and bureaucracy and all this other nonsense that we’re trying to sift through so we can get to a place where we can start working on solutions.”
As for himself, the actor said he has been shocked by his own resiliency in recent months. “It’s encouraging for me to know that I actually can have like a buoyant spirit in the face of something so horrible,” Dane admitted.
Dane was joined in the virtual conversation by “Brilliant Minds” creator Michael Grassi, who cast the actor in the Nov. 24 episode of the NBC drama as a man struggling with ALS. You can watch clips from the episode yourself below.
