Patrick Dempsey was angling for a totally McDreamy reunion with Eric Dane on his new show!
The Grey’s Anatomy alum, 60, shared in a Wednesday, January 28, interview with Parade how he has been supporting former costar amid Dane’s ALS battle, which the actor first revealed last year.
“I spoke to him a few weeks ago. I’ve been texting with him,” Dempsey said, adding that he had hoped to recruit Dane, 53, to appear on his new Fox crime drama, Memory of a Killer.
“We were trying to get him in [Killer] but unfortunately, the progression of his disease made it virtually impossible. But I was happy to see that he was here in Toronto working on, I think, another medical drama,” Dempsey said, referring to Dane’s recent guest appearance on NBC’s Brilliant Minds.
Dempsey and Dane portrayed best friends Dr. Derek Shepherd (a.k.a. McSteamy) and Dr. Mark Sloan (a.k.a. McSteamy) for multiple seasons on Grey’s Anatomy.
Despite both stars exiting the long-running medical drama over a decade ago, Dempsey said he is still close with Dane and reflected on his former costar’s ALS diagnosis.
“It’s very hard for him, but I do try to stay in touch and see how he’s doing,” the actor said. “I think he’s been incredibly courageous in the face of this horrible disease. He’s such a wonderful human being. He has such a great sense of humor, and he’s so intelligent. I’ve always enjoyed working and being around Eric.”
“It’s heartbreaking. It really is. For him and for his family. You feel for them when you see this terrible disease and how quickly it attacks the body,” Dempsey added. “But he’s bringing a lot of light to that, and he’s using his platform in a positive way. I wish him the best.”
Dane first revealed that he was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neuron disease, in April 2025. Per the Mayo Clinic, ALS is a “nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord” that causes loss of muscle control over time.
“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” Dane told People last year. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”
He continued, “I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to [the] set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
As well as appearing in Euphoria season 3, Dane guest starred on a November episode of NBC’s Brilliant Minds, playing a firefighter struggling to share his ALS diagnosis with his family. In a November panel discussion in conjunction with I AM ALS, Dane said he will continue to work and raise awareness for ALS as much as he can.
“I’m not about to concede my purpose to some disease. I just am not capable of doing that,” he said. “I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day. I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying. And I was a little bit pleasantly surprised when I realized that I wasn’t built like that, because I thought for sure that was gonna be me.”
He added, “I think it’s imperative that I share my journey with as many people as I can because I don’t feel like my life is about me anymore.”
