10 hours ago
1
Amid his real-life battle with ALS, Eric Dane has booked a role as a firefighter with the same diagnosis on Zachary Quinto‘s medical drama Brilliant Minds.
NBC announced on Monday, October 20, that Dane, 52, will appear on the ninth episode of the second season as “a heroic firefighter who struggles to share his ALS diagnosis with his family.” The first look images show Dane and Quinto on set together.
Brilliant Minds is one of Dane’s latest projects in the wake of his ALS diagnosis. (He is also reprising the role of Cal on Euphoria, along with playing Blythe on Countdown and nabbing a lead role on the upcoming series Kabul.) The actor publicly announced his health battle in April.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” Dane said in a statement 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.”
Every Time Eric Dane Has Been Candid About His Health Struggles
Dane later elaborated on when he first noticed symptoms of the illness, which causes muscle control while affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
“I started experiencing some weakness in my right hand. And 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,” Dane explained on Good Morning America in June. “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.’”
Pief Weyman/NBCIt took nearly a year for Dane to receive his diagnosis. “I will never forget those three letters, [ALS]. It’s on me the second I wake up,” he said. “It’s not a dream.”
Dane continued: “I have one functioning arm. … My left side is functioning. My right side, [which is my dominant side], has completely stopped working. [My left arm] is going. I feel like maybe a couple, a few more months and I won’t have my left. … I’m worried about my legs.”
NBC Fall Schedule for New, Returning Shows: 'The Voice' and More
At the time, Dane admitted he felt “angry” about battling the condition. “Very. I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young. And now there’s a very good chance that I’ll be taken from my girls when they’re very young,” he explained, referring to his daughters with Rebecca Gayheart. “I mean, I really, at the end of the day, all I want is to just spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can.”
Dane has also discussed how his neurologist, who is a leading ALS researcher, gave him hope about slowing the progression of the disease.
“I would have thought I would have been the hide under the sheets kind of person, but that’s not been the case,” Dane told Extra about Dr. Merit Cudkowicz in July. “My attitude and spirit has been pretty buoyant. I am just kind of riding it. Not every day has been great, but the net is, I have a pretty good life.”
Brilliant Minds airs on NBC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
English (US) ·