Eric DaneIt is Brilliant minds role removed from his real life as his character learned to lean on his family amid a deteriorating battle with ALS.
During the Monday, Nov. 24, episode of the NBC series, Dane, 53, played a patient named Matthew, who struggles as his ALS progresses and his symptoms make daily life more difficult. Matthew initially refused to tell his ex-wife and daughter what was happening, although he eventually revealed he was struggling.
After denying the changes he would have to make to accommodate his health issues, Matthew chose to move back in with his family. He recognized that he could not face his difficulties without those close to him by his side.
“The act of saving is often linked to things like heroism and courage. But for guys like me, I’ve always seen it as an act of kindness,” Eric’s character said in an emotional voiceover. “I guess I never thought of myself as the one to take care of.”
Matthew noted that he needed to change his perspective.
“But I know now that even on my hardest days, you and your mother will be there to save me from the many fires that may come,” he continued. “Sometimes the most heroic thing you can do isn’t running into a burning building. It’s quieter, smaller but somehow more difficult – at least for me.”
He added: “Let you and your mother in, accept help, accept this voice banking activity that Dr. Pierce talked about. [is] allow myself to be saved – even if I don’t want to. For me, it’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done. And it’s scary as hell. But it’s worth it if it means more time with you.
Dane’s role in Brilliant minds is his last as he continues to battle ALS. He should also take over Cal on Euphoriaplayed Blythe on Countdown and will appear in the next series Kabul.
“I was diagnosed with ALS,” Dane said in a statement released in April. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we embark on this next chapter. I feel fortunate to be able to continue working and look forward to returning to the set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you give my family and I our privacy during this time.”
Dane remembers the moment he first noticed symptoms of the disease that causes muscle control while affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
“I started to feel some weakness in my right hand. And I didn’t really think about it at the time, I thought maybe I had been texting too much and my hand was tired,” Dane explained on Hello America in June. “A few weeks later, I noticed it had gotten a little worse. I went to see a hand specialist, who sent me to another hand specialist. I went to see a neurologist, and the neurologist sent me to another neurologist and said, ‘This is way above my pay grade.'”
From Lou Gehrig in 1939 to Eric Dane in 2025, celebrities have been publicly tackling what is now known as ALS for decades. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a terminal neurodegenerative disease. The disease causes the individual to gradually lose control of their muscles, gradually beginning with muscle stiffness or […]
Dane waited almost a year to receive his diagnosis. “I will never forget these three letters, [ALS]. It’s on me as soon as I wake up,” he said. “It’s not a dream.”
Dane continued: “I have a working arm. … My left side works. My right side, [which is my dominant side]completely stopped working. [My left arm] go. I feel like maybe a few months, a few more months and I won’t have any more. …I’m worried about my legs.
The actor said he felt “angry” about dealing with the illness. “Very. I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young. And now there’s a very good chance that I’ll be taken from my daughters when they’re very young,” he explained, referring to his daughters with Rebecca Gayheart. “I mean, at the end of the day, all I want to do is just spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can.”
Dane thanked his neurologist for giving him hope of slowing the progression of the disease.
“I would have thought I would have been the type of person to hide under the sheets, but that wasn’t the case,” Dane told Extra about Dr. Merit Cudkowicz in July. “My attitude and my spirit has been pretty buoyant. I’m just doing it. Not every day has been great, but the net is, I have a pretty good life.”
Brilliant minds airs on NBC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes air the next day on Peacock.
