Eric Dane’s real life will soon translate to the screen.
On Monday, October 20, NBC announced that Dane will star in an upcoming episode of medical drama Brilliant Minds. On the upcoming episode, which will mark the ninth episode of the show’s second season, Dane will play “a firefighter, a father” who receives “a diagnosis that changes everything,” per a caption on a post from NBC’s official Instagram account. According to Variety, the diagnosis in question is ALS, and Dane’s character will reportedly struggle to share the news with his family.
NBC also revealed photos from the episode, in which he is seen alongside Zachary Quinto, who plays Oliver Wolf, an attending physician in neurology at Bronx General Hospital.
This role comes after Dane’s real-life diagnosis with ALS, which was reported earlier this year. ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that gradually paralyzes the body by destroying the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Those who live with ALS slowly lose their ability to walk, speak, and breathe on their own.
Dane’s diagnosis hasn’t stopped him from filming his parts for the third season of Euphoria, where he plays Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi’s character Nate Jacobs. Unfortunately, Dane did miss out on a Grey’s Anatomy reunion at this year’s Emmy Awards after a fall that left him hospitalized. The actor recently revealed that he has started using a wheelchair.
Since his diagnosis, Dane has advocated for those living with ALS, and recently went to Capitol Hill to lobby for federal funds to go toward research for the disease. Back in September, Dane was also awarded Advocate of the Year by the ALS Network.
Dane’s upcoming Brilliant Minds episode will air on NBC on Monday, Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET.
