Netflix quietly dropped a posthumous interview with Eric Dane on Friday, one day after the Grey’s Anatomy star died from ALS at 53. The tragic news of his passing rocked the entertainment world.
The interview is part of a Netflix series called Famous Last Words. In the show, subjects sit down for a recorded conversation while they’re still alive, knowing that nobody will see it until after they’re dead. Brad Falchuk, the producer best known for his work with Ryan Murphy on American Horror Story and Glee, conducts each interview himself. Camera operators are kept in a separate room. No publicist, no handler, no safety net.
Dane recorded his episode last November. He had been diagnosed with ALS just seven months earlier.
His episode is just the second to air. The first was Jane Goodall, who died last October. Falchuk told the Associated Press he had already recorded five conversations at the time of Dane’s death, a figure he has since updated to seven in a subsequent interview, with more in the pipeline. He has declined to identify any of the other subjects. As he put it himself, “very, very few people have seen it and very, very few people even know who’s done it.”
What Did Eric Dane Reveal In His Posthumous Interview?
During his interview with Netflix, Dane was asked about his opinion on death and the afterlife. The actor answered, “I think when the lights go out, it’s over. I do believe that once we go to sleep or however it is we go, once we’re gone, we’re gone.”
He spoke directly to his daughters during the interview, telling them to “live now. Right now. In the present.”
He described years of his life that he spent being “lost in his head, wallowing in self-pity, shame and doubt.” He expressed regret about his time spent in self-pity, admitting that his ALS diagnosis ‘forced’ him into the present.
Most powerfully, Dane said, “There’s no reason for me to be happy in any individual moment, but I am.”
There’s Also A Book Nobody Is Talking About
Dane wasn’t just focused on recording this powerful interview in the months leading up to his death. He was also in the middle of writing a memoir.
Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments was set up through Maria Shriver’s imprint The Open Field at Penguin Random House. Dane described it himself as a collection of the moments that shaped him — his first day on Grey’s Anatomy, the births of his daughters, the day he got his diagnosis. The book is still listed for release later in 2026. Whether the manuscript was finished before he died on February 19th has not been confirmed by the publisher. That’s a question someone should be asking.
The Part Of This Story That Deserves More Attention
Dane is survived by Rebecca Gayheart, the actress he married in 2004 and separated from in 2017. His family’s statement announcing his death noted that she was by his side at the end.
The statement read, “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, Rebecca, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.”
The family continued, “Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight.”
“He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always,” his daughters Billie and Georgia said, adding, “Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”
ALS And Its Effect On America
The ALS Association puts the number of Americans currently living with the disease at around 30,000, with roughly 5,000 new diagnoses each year. Most patients are dead within two to five years. Funding for research remains inadequate relative to the scale of the disease, and the treatment options haven’t changed dramatically in decades.
The interview Eric Dane left behind on Netflix is the last version of that.
