Grey’s Anatomy Alum Chyler Leigh Reacts to Eric Dane’s “Devastating” Death
Chyler Leigh—who played Eric Dane’s love interest in Grey’s Anatomy—shared her heartbreaking reaction to the Euphoria actor’s death following a yearlong battle with ALS.
Chyler Leigh is remembering her time with Eric Dane.
Indeed, the Grey’s Anatomy actress—who played Eric’s onscreen love interest in the hit ABC show—opened up about working with the Euphoria star following his Feb. 19 death. He was 53.
“The last 48 hours have been devastating,” Chyler said in a statement to E! News. “I never thought I would be using the term ‘had or was,’ but here we are. And I hate it.”
“Eric had a heart of gold,” she continued. “His humor and, especially, his laugh was infectious. He was a deeply intelligent man who could carry a philosophical conversation for hours even while we were on set. He was an amazing father and loved his girls FIERCELY. Incredibly passionate about his work and the causes he kept close to his heart.”
Although the Burlesque actor—who shared kids Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14, with estranged wife Rebecca Gayheart—died nearly one year after publicly sharing his ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) diagnosis, Chyler emphasized how his legacy will live on.
“The Universe is undoubtedly holding Eric now,” she continued, “just as I will continue to do within my heart forever.”
But the 43-year-old—who played Lexie Grey in the medical series opposite Eric’s Mark Sloan—isn’t the only Grey’s star who has paid their respects to the late actor. After all, Patrick Dempsey—who played Derek Shepherd in the show—opened up about hearing the news of the Feast actor’s passing.
“I just woke up this morning, and I was very sad to read the news,” Patrick said in a Feb. 20 interview on Virgin Radio UK. “It’s hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children. I was corresponding with him, we were texting. So I spoke to him about a week ago.”
In that time, Patrick learned how much Eric’s ALS had progressed.
“Some friends of ours went in to see him,” he explained, “and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak, he was bed-ridden and it was very hard for him to swallow. The quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly.”
Patrick also reflected on working with Eric on Grey’s,
“He was the funniest man,” Patrick shared. “He’s such a joy to work with, and I want to just remember him in that spirit. Anytime he was on set, he brought so much fun to it. He had a great sense of humor. He was easy to work with. We got along instantly. His first scene was him in all his glory coming out of the bathroom with a towel on looking amazing, making me feel completely out of shape and insignificant.”
But that onscreen bromance between Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Mark Sloan quickly made its way into the pair’s reality.
“We hit it off because there was never really any competition,” he noted. “It was just this wonderful mutual respect. He’s wickedly intelligent. I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives. The real loss is for us who don’t have him anymore.”
