Eric Dane receives 10-minute standing ovation for first TV role since ALS diagnosis

Eric Dane has been widely praised by cast, crew and critics alike for his return to TV just months after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The actor, who is best known for playing Mark ‘McSteamy’ Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy, was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disease in April 2025, leading many of his fans to fear he may retire from acting altogether while navigating a raft of new health challenges.

However, their fears appeared to be unfounded as Eric returned to our screens in latest episode of Brilliant Minds, where the 53-year-old played a firefighter and 9/11 hero who was struggling with his own progression of ALS.

During one 'emotional' scene in the episode, Dane’s character, Matthew, records a message about his changing attitude towards knowing when to ask for help, something which prompted everyone on set to rise to their feet in recognition for the poignant moment.

Eric's storyline echoed aspects of his own recent health diagnosis (Pief Weyman/NBC)

"I have never seen this happen in my entire career, but he essentially got a 10-minute standing ovation after shooting that scene," Michael Grassi, the creator of Brilliant Minds, told USA Today. "Because it was so beautiful and so honest and so real."

“While his character’s finding bravery, there's a lot of bravery in Eric to tell the story as well. To come out and share this part of yourself is vulnerable but also really important, and I think raises awareness and shows people that they're not alone,” he added.

The emotional storyline which shined a light on the way an ALS diagnosis can impact both the person with the condition and their family, came about after Dane’s team reached out to the show back in September.

Speaking to Deadline, Grassi explained that 'this very simple idea of what is it like for a family to navigate a difficult diagnosis'.

He went on: "There’s no rule book. There’s no guide. There’s no right way. There’s no wrong way, and it’s really hard.

"So we just wanted to show, especially for our Thanksgiving episode, what is it like for a family to have to work through this together?"

Brilliant Minds marks Dane's first acting role since being diagnosed with ALS (Pief Weyman/NBC)

In particular, Grassi was keen to highlight how ALS is an evolving condition requiring constant adaptation and adjustment to the constant changes.

"I think something like ALS, once you adapt, something changes again, and you’re adapting again and then adapting again and adapting again. That is not easy by any means, because you’re always doing something new. So those are all things that we talked about early on that we were interested in exploring in this episode.”

Working with Dane on the storyline was also what sealed the deal, as it brought a sense of ‘honesty’ to the lived experience of the 5,000 Americans diagnosed with ALS each and every year.

"We wanted to meet him and his story in terms of where he [was] that day…when you’re dealing with a progressive illness, sometimes stuff changes every day,” Grassi added. “So we just really wanted to be open and collaborative and keep the conversation going every day.”

"The best part of the process was working with Eric and making sure that he felt great, and we felt great. He was just so generous on set, and it was a really good time getting to work with him.”

The episode proved to be so emotional one scene even earned a standing ovation during filming (Pief Weyman/NBC)

Shot in October, Dane’s episode marks a key milestone in his career so far, as it is his first role that was filmed after he revealed his ALS diagnosis earlier this year.

At the time of his diagnosis, Dane had expressed an intention to continue working for as long as he was able, however he did ask for privacy as he came to terms with his condition alongside his two daughters, Billie and Georgia, and ex-wife Rebecca Gayheart.

In addition to his acting, Dane has also become a vocal supporter of the Push for Progress campaign, which aims to help I AM ALS to raise $1 billion for research over the next three years to help combat the disease.

Speaking at an event about the disease, Dane admitted: "I have two daughters at home. I want to see them, you know, graduate college, and get married and maybe have grandkids. You know, I want to be there for all that. So I’m going to fight to the last breath with this one.”