Summary
- Eric Dane reveals he was let go from Grey's Anatomy due to rising costs, not his personal struggles.
- Dane doesn't regret his time on the show and praises creator Shonda Rhimes for her support.
- The actor has been open about his battles with addiction and depression, taking time off to address these issues.
Grey's Anatomy fans will know and love Eric Dane's character, Dr. Mark Sloan, whom he played for six seasons. In 2012, Dane exited the show, much to the heartbreak of many of his fans. Now, a decade later, he is opening up about his exit and admitting that it was not his decision to bid Grey's Anatomy farewell.
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In an interview on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast (via Page Six), Dane discussed his exit. "I didn't leave so much as I think I was let go," he said. "I was struggling," he said of his drug and alcohol addiction. "They didn't let me go because of that, although it definitely didn't help." But if it was not his personal struggles that were to blame for being dropped from the show, then what was it?
Eric Dane Talks About 'Grey's Anatomy' Exit
In the same interview, Eric Dane mentioned that his standing on the show meant that having him appear season after season did not come cheap. "I was starting to become — as most of these actors who have spent significant time on the show — you start to become very expensive for the network," he said. "And the network knows that the show is going to do what it's going to do irrespective of who they keep on it — as long as they have their Grey they were fine."
Grey's Anatomy fans are no strangers to heartbreak, and many of their favorite characters were killed off, despite the decision often being unexpected. Despite Dane's exit from Grey's Anatomy not being his choice, he doesn't regret the time he spent on the show; as he explained, he "wasn't the same guy they had hired." He also has nothing but nice things to say about creator Shona Rhimes, who he referred to as "really great" and credited for her support of the actors.
"She protected us fiercely. She protected us publicly, she protected us privately … I love Shonda Rhimes, and she protected me, but I was probably fired," Dane admits. "It wasn't ceremoniously like, 'You're fired,' it was just like, 'You're not coming back,'" he said.
Eric Dane Discusses His Addiction Journey
Eric Dane has been honest about his addiction and recovery and has publicly addressed it. "I've had battles with my own demons," he said, per Yahoo Life!, of his character Carl Jacobs who he played on the hit HBO series, Euphoria. "I don't see much of a difference between the double life Carl is leading and the double life I was leading at times."
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In 2017, the actor also admitted to having depression and discussed how it impacted his career. "I took some time off — I was dealing with some depression, which was kind of odd to me," he told Today. "I felt very conflicted about it because I didn't really feel like I had anything to be depressed about."
He continued, "Now I take a medication called Pristiq, which I thought just sounded like a good mood. And the depression is gone."
