Eric Dane received a standing ovation as he channeled his real-life health struggles into his latest guest role on Brilliant Minds.
The actor, who revealed his ASL diagnosis in April, played a firefighter with the same disease on the Monday, November 24, episode of the NBC medical drama. (ALS is a “nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control,” per the Mayo Clinic.)
“I have never seen this happen in my entire career, but he essentially got a 10-minute standing ovation after shooting that scene, because it was so beautiful and so honest and so real,” Brilliant Minds creator Michael Grassi told USA Today in an interview on Monday.
“Also, while his character’s finding bravery, there’s a lot of bravery in Eric to tell the story as well. To come out and share this part of yourself is vulnerable but also really important, and I think raises awareness and shows people that they’re not alone,” Grassi continued.
Photos of Eric Dane Through the Years: From ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to ALS Battle
On Monday’s episode, Dane, 53, portrayed Michael, a firefighter whose progressive ALS takes its toll on his body, while he also struggles to share the news with his ex-wife — played by Mädchen Amick — and daughter.
Grassi told USA Today that he leapt at the opportunity to write a role for Dane when the actor’s team reached out about a guest-starring role on the Zachary Quinto-led drama.
Grassi said he was also dealing with a “health emergency” in his family, and he and Dane began pitching “this idea of, ‘How does a family navigate a difficult diagnosis?’”
“And there’s no rule book. There’s no right way or wrong way to do it,” Grassi said. “And in our conversations, something that he was dealing with very much in real time, and I was dealing with in my life, and a lot of people deal with every day is, how do you navigate, how do you communicate and how do you accept help?”
Eric Dane Uses a Wheelchair During Rare Public Outing Amid ALS Battle
Dane first shared his ALS diagnosis in a statement in April.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” the actor said at the time. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter. I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
In a June interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, the Grey’s Anatomy alum opened up about being diagnosed with ALS after experiencing “weakness” in his right hand.
“I didn’t really think anything of it at the time; I thought maybe I’d been texting too much and my hand was fatigued,” he recalled. “A few weeks later, I noticed it’d gotten a little worse. I went and saw a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist. I went and saw a neurologist, and the neurologist sent me to another neurologist and said, ‘This is way above my pay grade.’”
Dane was eventually diagnosed nine months later. “I’ll never forget those three letters,” he said in June.
At the time, the actor said he’d lost function of his right arm and expected to lose function of his left hand within “maybe a couple, few more months.”
Brilliant Minds airs on NBC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
