Like many television viewers, I first noticed Eric Dane on Grey’s Anatomy. His Dr. Mark Sloan (“McSteamy” in show parlance) was a hilarious agent of chaos, remixing the show’s existing couplings to great effect, thanks in large part to Dane’s smoldering charisma.
Dane passed away on February 19th after his diagnosis with ALS was widely publicized. He was a person who attracted people. But in the years since his stint on Grey’s ended (he left the show in 2012), Dane has also become a more interesting actor thanks to one dynamite role. The kids on “Euphoria” get all the attention, but it was Dane’s painful performance as a man fighting every impulse that gave that show’s first two seasons a real sense of stability. Without Dane’s performance as Cal Jacobs, a secret father whose desire becomes the enemy of all, neither Jacob Elordi (as Cal’s son) nor Hunter Schaefer (as a high school girl caught up in an unhealthy relationship with Cal) would have had such great roles.
However, his performance in “Euphoria” is just amazing. As Cal, Dane could hardly express what he really wanted. What came so easily to McSteamy, sexually fluent at the anything-goes Seattle Grace Hospital, was suddenly tied up and hidden when he had to chaperone the teens at Euphoria High School. The fact that those of us who watched “Grey’s” knew how friendly, funny, and sexy Dane could act made Dane’s triumph of frigidity in “Euphoria” even more revealing. Here he was a man who was so uncomfortable with himself that he demanded that he elicit that discomfort in others as well. Jules, a transgender teenager who had been intrigued by his son and his clearly inappropriate solicitations, also flinched at his touch. And why wouldn’t you? Cal is quiet, but he’s easily overcome with a surprising wave of anger – he looks like the kind of guy whose face turns white at the thought of himself.
In Season 2, before Dane’s health deteriorated, I remember thinking to myself that the very fact that this cast member was taking on this role was pretty bold. Sure, actors need to work, and this was HBO’s job, but there was no guarantee that “Euphoria” would deliver such a performance (it came to dominate culture every Sunday night while it aired), and, well, he was McSteamy! Wouldn’t other roles like this, where the main character has a twist be more appealing? Instead, Dane was leaning toward a part that earned its own standout episode. In that episode, we saw flashbacks of Cal’s past exploring his sexuality with men, before we see present-tense Cal getting drunk and depressed, abusing his family, and literally urinating on the floor.
“Euphoria” gets a lot of flak for being over-the-top, but within its looping creative world, performances must be carefully calibrated to keep the whole thing from falling apart. And Dane did just that. He will be back next season 3 and I am sure his performance will be a highlight.
I used to attribute Shonda Rhimes’ consistent performance on “Euphoria” to her training, but when I interviewed Dane last year, he said there was something else at work. It was a newfound willingness to be free-spirited and take risks. “I’ve always had a deep respect for the craft of acting, but I never thought of myself as an artist,” he said. “I never really recognized it until I started making ‘Euphoria.’ That’s when I started to feel like an artist.”
And that was the art he made. Dane brought to life a character who had hit hard against an insurmountable wall in his understanding of his own sexuality and had to work hard to break through. In this same interview, I felt compelled to ask Dane (uncomfortably delicately) about living with ALS. The diagnosis was announced several months ago, and while Dane was currently promoting the Amazon series “Countdown,” in which she had a supporting role, the news remained up in the air. “I really don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “I’m the one who announced it. That’s what’s happening to me, and it’s very personal to me.”
fair enough. However, trying to discuss the private issue of health head-on made me wonder. What kind of work does Dane imagine he will do in the future? “I’m ready and willing to do almost anything, but I understand that I have limitations and can’t play certain roles,” he said. “We are currently working on “Euphoria.” “Countdown” has finished. I’m pretty capable when it comes to that. ”
The clock is cruel. The actor, who lived forever in his youth as a strong surgeon, passed away before his time was reached. But the passage of time is also the point of his last major performance. Cal Jacobs realized that his life was slipping away from him, until it was gone. A kindhearted and insightful man, Eric Dane raved about his young colleague in interviews even when he was sick, telling us that he had come to realize that the measure of a performer was how he conducted himself on and off set. I only met him briefly, but I don’t think he would have made the same mistake.
