Guest on the podcast “Armchair Expert” hosted by Dax Shepard, Eric Dane revealed that his departure from the series “Grey’s Anatomy” was not a personal decision, but a sidelining by the production because of his drug and alcohol consumption.
Reality check. In 2012, Eric Dane left the series “Grey’s Anatomy” after six seasons as Dr. Mark ‘McSteamy’ Sloan. However, the 51-year-old actor told the podcast “Armchair Expert”, hosted by Dax Shepard, that his departure was in no way a personal decision. Also, the production reportedly decided to let him go because of his drug and alcohol addiction.
“I left as much as I was fired,” he admitted of his addictions. “They didn’t let me go because of that, although it definitely played a role,” he added. Later in the conversation, Eric Dane explained that he was likely “fired” for financial reasons. “Like actors who stay on a show for a long time, you start costing the network a lot of money. (…) I wasn’t the same guy they hired, and I understood that when they let me go,” he continued.
Eric Dane took the opportunity to thank the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy”, Shonda Rhimes, who has constantly protected the actors, both privately and publicly, from criticism and attacks. According to him, she tried to avoid his firing, but without success. “It didn’t happen in a brutal way, like ‘You’re fired.’ I was just made to understand that I’m not coming back,” he said. The actor, who claims to have been sober for “three or four years”, had followed up with the series “The Last Ship” for five seasons, before making a new appearance on “Grey’s Anatomy” in a scene with Ellen Pompeo in season 17.
