Patrick Dempsey Remembers Eric Dane, Details His Final Days

Patrick Dempsey is opening up about his late friend and “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star Eric Dane, who passed away from ALS at 53 years old. Dempsey shares a memorable moment from working with the late actor, offering a heartfelt tribute to his beloved friend.

On February 20, Dempsey had a guest appearance on “The Chris Evans Breakfast Show,” just a day after Dane died. Dempsey said he woke up that morning to the news of his friend’s passing, telling the host it was difficult to put into words what he was feeling.

According to Dempsey, he had been texting with Dane just a week prior, and some of their friends had visited the actor. At that time, Dane had already started having difficulty speaking, according to Dempsey.

“He was bedridden and it was very hard for him to swallow, so the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly,” Dempsey shared.

In April 2025, Dane shared that he had been diagnosed with ALS, and he passed away on February 19, surrounded by his family.

Dempsey describes Dane as a funny man, saying that he was “such a joy to work with.” The actor said he brought so much joy to the set of “Grey’s Anatomy,” where they worked together for several years.

Dempsey recalled one of Dane’s scenes in the medical drama, where the latter shows up in only a towel, showing off his toned body. “First scene was him in all of his glory coming out of the bathroom with a towel on, looking amazing, making me feel completely out of shape and insignificant,” Dempsey recalled, laughing.

According to the “Memory of a Killer” actor, he and Dane immediately hit it off, extending their friendship outside of work. “There was this wonderful mutual respect. He’s wickedly intelligent, and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives,” he said.

Dempsey and Dane played Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd and Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy,” childhood friends and surgeons who had a complicated relationship.

Dane’s character first appeared in season 2, who was introduced as Shepherd’s former best friend who had an affair with Shepherd’s wife. The two eventually reconciled and developed an even closer friendship throughout the seasons.

Dane left “Grey’s Anatomy” in season 8 after his character was killed off. Dempsey’s character, meanwhile, died from a brain injury sustained in a car accident in season 11.

Despite no longer seeing each other regularly, Dempsey and Dane maintained their close friendship after “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Apart from “Grey’s Anatomy,” Dempsey and Dane also appeared in the 2010 movie “Valentine’s Day,” though they didn’t appear in any scenes together.

As The Blast previously reported, Dempsey wanted another chance to work with Dane on a series.

When Dane revealed his ALS diagnosis, he said that he wanted to continue acting as long as he is able. Just a week after his announcement, he returned to work shooting for the third season of “Euphoria,” which is scheduled to premiere in April.

Dempsey’s crime thriller show on Fox, “Memory of a Killer,” debuted on January 25. He revealed that he wanted to get Dane as a guest star, but unfortunately, the progression of the actor’s ALS prevented it from happening.

Apart from reminiscing about their time together, Dempsey also praised Dane for bringing awareness to ALS while also battling the disease, adding that it’s a reminder to “celebrate every day like it’s our last day.”

“In a world where there is just so much crisis, and there is so much tragedy that we really need to be grateful for every moment that we have… spend time with our families, do things that are better, that benefit of other people to be of service to be kind, to be loving…” he shared.

In September 2025, the ALS Network honored Dane with the Advocate of the Year Award for his work in raising awareness for ALS.