Patrick Dempsey solemnly paid tribute to his late Grey’s Anatomy co-star Eric Dane in a new interview.
Mr Dempsey appeared visibly emotional when a Newstalk FM reporter expressed his “deepest condolences” to him on Tuesday.
The 60-year-old agreed with the journalist’s description of losing a loved one as “horrible, tough and life-changing”.
Dempsey went on to share his perspective on the “very painful” grieving process, explaining that his father passed away when the Golden Globe nominee was “very young,” and then his mother also passed away.
“I lost some friends last year,” Dempsey continued.
He was especially effusive about Dane, calling the Euphoria star “so loved” and believing the late Dane “would be really happy to know that.”
Mr Dempsey added: “I know a lot of people reached out to try to track him down before he passed away. He was very much loved and I am so sorry for him.”
The “Enchanted” star first addressed Dane’s death at age 53 on Friday’s “Chris Evans Breakfast Show,” a day after the “Countdown” star lost his battle with ALS.
“I just woke up this morning and reading the news made me very sad,” Dempsey said. “It’s hard to describe. I feel so sad for his children.”
Dane shares daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14, with his estranged wife Rebecca Gayheart.
A GoFundMe was started for the teenager by his father’s friends, and donations have reached nearly $500,000.
Dane was diagnosed with ALS in April 2025, and continued to work as an actor while overcoming the disease.
Dempsey opened up about Dane’s final days last week, as his former colleague “really started to lose the ability to speak.”
“He was bedridden and had great difficulty swallowing, so his quality of life was rapidly deteriorating,” Ms Dempsey said.
He recalled working together on Grey’s Anatomy from 2006 to 2012, when Dempsey and Eric Dane played Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd and Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan, respectively.
“He brought a really fun atmosphere,” Dempsey recalled, and they “hit it off right away.”
Other former cast members, from Katherine Heigl to Kevin McKidd, have also posted tributes to Dain.
