Before his shocking death, Johnny Depp quietly stood up for a friend in need.
After the Pirates of the Caribbean star was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he opened the door of his Los Angeles home to his sick friend Eric Dane.
“Eric has one less thing to worry about,” a source told Page Six. He “was basically living rent-free in one of the houses Johnny owned up on the Sunset Strip. He told Eric to pay whatever he could to pay the rent or he wouldn’t be able to pay the rent.”
Depp and Dane are said to have met through mutual friends many years ago.
The source explained that with Dane battling a debilitating illness, “Johnny wanted to do everything he could to ease the financial burden.”
Dane lost his battle with ALS on Thursday at the age of 53.
“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed away on Thursday afternoon after a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by his beloved friends, devoted wife, and two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world,” the family said in a statement.
“Eric’s journey with ALS has made him a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same battle,” the statement continued. “He will be greatly missed and will always be remembered with fondness.”
The actor announced in April 2025 that he had been diagnosed with a neurological disease that causes loss of muscle control. By June, he had lost the use of his right arm.
“My left side is working, but my right side has completely stopped working,” the “Euphoria” star said in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America.” “I think my left hand will be gone in a few months. It’s a terrible feeling.”
Dane threw herself into advocacy and joined the board of directors of Target ALS, which funds research aimed at finding treatments and cures. In November, he played a firefighter battling ALS in an episode of the show “Brilliant Minds.”
In January, Dane was forced to cancel an appearance at the ALS Network Champions for Cure and Care Gala where she was scheduled to be honored “due to the physical realities of ALS” and because she was “not well enough to attend.”
The disease is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous Yankee who was diagnosed in 1939. Scientists Stephen Hawking and Roberta Flack also suffered from progressive degenerative diseases that eventually led to their death.
Dane isn’t the only person Depp has offered support to.
I heard that the “Edward Scissorhands” actor, who owns multiple homes in the area, made a similar flexible rent offer to Mickey Rourke.
Rourke, who co-starred with Depp in 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico, was evicted from her home in January after failing to pay nearly $60,000 in rent.
A source said, “As of now, Mickey has not accepted any offers.”
He also declined to donate to a GoFundMe set up by his manager.
Representatives for Depp, Dane and Rourke did not respond to requests for comment.
