Eric Dane was scheduled to reunite with Jesse Williams at the 2025 Emmy Awards, but the “Grey’s Anatomy” alum never appeared onstage. In a new interview with The Washington Post, the actor revealed he spent the night in the hospital after falling in his kitchen and suffering a head injury just hours before the September 14 ceremony.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Prime Video)“I was getting stitches put in my head,” Dane, 52, explained. “ALS is a nasty disease. I missed an opportunity I was really looking forward to.”
Dane Calls the Missed Reunion ‘Really Upsetting‘
(Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)The actor admitted he was crushed to miss presenting alongside his longtime costar. “It would have been great to see Jesse and get reunited with some of my peers, and to be able to present in front of my colleagues, I thought would have been a special moment,” Dane explained. “So I was really upset about it, but you know, there was nothing I could do about it.”
Family Stands by His Side Through Diagnosis
Dane first revealed his ALS diagnosis in April. His wife, Rebecca Gayheart, has been candid about how difficult the journey has been for their family. “I’m not at a place yet where I can pull out a positive nugget,” she told People. “It’s a horrible disease, and I wish that there was a cure. I hope they find one soon, because it is just so sad.”
Although the couple filed for divorce in 2018, they called off the split in 2025, just before Dane shared his diagnosis. “Eric will always be my family, whether we’re married or not,” Gayheart said.
Dane Focuses on Advocacy & Future With His Daughters
Despite the challenges, Dane has thrown himself into advocacy. He recently joined the nonprofit I AM ALS in Washington, D.C., to advocate for expanded access to clinical trials and a $1 billion research initiative.
“ALS is the last thing they want to diagnose anybody with,” he said in a TikTok video shared by Rep. Eric Swalwell. “So often, it takes all this time for these people to be diagnosed; well, then it precludes them from being a part of these clinical trials. That’s why ACT for ALS is so, so great.”
For Dane, the fight is deeply personal. “I have two daughters at home,” he said. “I want to see them graduate college, and get married and maybe have grandkids. I want to be there for all that. So I’m going to fight to the last breath on this one.”
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