Grey's Anatomy alum Eric Dane announces ALS diagnosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a “progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,” per the ALS Association. Early symptoms include muscle weakness, loss of motor control, and slurred speech; later stage symptoms include paralysis and trouble breathing and swallowing. Research is ongoing to identify the exact cause of the disease. Treatments can help to slow the symptoms, which typically progress over three to five years, but there is not yet a cure. 

Dane is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan, a.k.a. “McSteamy,” on Grey’s Anatomy. After leaving that show in 2012, he appeared in a number of projects, including the Michael Bay-produced The Last Ship. Most recently, he’s starred in Sam Levinson’s Euphoria as Cal Jacobs, the punishing father of Jacob Elordi’s Nate Jacobs whose internalized homophobia causes him to lead a secret double life, hiding affairs from his family. Despite a lengthy hiatus after the end of the second season—and doubts from many, including this outlet, that the show would ever return—production on the third season began earlier this year. There will reportedly be a time jump in the plot taking the young characters, played by Elordi, Zendaya, and Sydney Sweeney (among others), out of high school. Per People, Dane is expected to join the cast and begin shooting as Cal on April 14.