Former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane has opened up about his previous battles with addiction and how it’s shaped him into the actor he is today.
“Sometimes you just hang on and understand that this too shall pass. I never expected life—no matter what your circumstances are—to be easy all the time,” said Dane.
During his road to sobriety, Dane realized there will always be obstacles to overcome in life, preparing him in the best way to “weather some of the down times.”
“They come fast and furious, and a lot of the time, all you can do is just hang on and know that it’s going to pass … I no longer use substances and alcohol and things of that nature to deal with any of that stuff, good or bad.”
He continued, “It’s not celebratory, and it’s not something I pick up when … things aren’t great. And the only way out is through.”
Dane, best known for his role as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on the ABC hit show, was first sober when he initially took the gig in the show’s second season that began airing in September 2005.
‘When Things Started Going Sideways’
Back in June this year, Dane joined Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast, and clarified the reasoning behind his departure from the show.He revealed that he didn’t exactly choose to leave “Grey’s Anatomy” when he was written off with his character dying from injuries sustained during an aviation accident, ending his involvement.
“I wasn’t the same guy they had hired. So I had understood when I was let go … but I was probably fired. It wasn’t ceremoniously like, ‘You’re fired,’ it was just like, ‘You’re not coming back,'” he said.
Dane made the decision to check himself into rehab in 2011 after struggling with depression for years and his addiction to painkillers.
“If you take the whole eight years on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ I was [expletitive] up longer than I was sober. And that’s when things started going sideways for me,” he recalled.
“It was overwhelming, and I think I just wanted to pretend that it wasn’t and that I was comfortable with it. Act like you’ve been there, but you haven’t been there.”
He doesn’t blame show creators and producers for their decision and has since explored other avenues in his career, like portraying the acclaimed character of Cal Jacobs on the show “Euphoria” and appearing in this summer’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Dane reprised his “Grey’s Anatomy” role for the first time in nine years in 2021, when he appeared during a dream sequence in an episode of the show’s 17th season.
The actor is currently promoting his new indie drama, “One Fast Move” which hit theaters on Aug. 8.
