Acclaimed actor Eric Dane died Feb. 20, 2026, 10 months after he publicly announced his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in April 2025. Dane spoke with vulnerability about his ALS experience and advocated for funding research to cure the neurological disorder. Dane’s advocacy for the ALS community remains part of his lasting legacy as an actor, father, and former Bay Area resident. For 35 years, Dane starred in rom-coms, including Valentine’s Day and Marley and Me, and was in beloved TV shows Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy. With every role Dane took on, his fandom and impact on the industry only grew. Caution, Grey’s Anatomy spoilers ahead…

After discovering theater as a student at San Jose High School, Dane moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In 2006, he landed the role of Mark Sloan, better known to Grey’s fans as ‘McSteamy’ on the hit ABC medical drama series, Grey’s Anatomy. The role wasn’t meant to become a series staple, but Sloan became a regular through fans’ popular demand. Dane played Sloan to perfection, giving the character a charismatic charm that made it difficult for viewers not to fall in love with Sloan, despite his womanizing ways and offensive breaches of “bro code.” 

While the character of plastic surgeon Mark Sloan was eventually written out of the show’s script in season nine, Dane’s time on the show was a truly daring performance filled with hilarity that continues to demonstrate Dane’s talent as an actor. Many episodes are full of Dr. Sloan drama, but four stand out that truly capture the significance of Sloan’s role and the attentiveness Dane gave to playing the fan-favorite character in the series.

Season 2, Episode 18, “Yesterday”

Mark Sloan’s first appearance on Grey’s creates a stir at Seattle Grace Hospital, and not just because of his good looks. Mark is Dr. Derek Shepard’s (Patrick Dempsey) former best friend. However, after Mark had an affair with Derek’s wife, Addison (Kate Walsh), during a difficult period in their marriage, the pair had a falling out. So when Mark shows up at the hospital to win back Addison, chaos is inevitable. Among the causes for their arguing is Mark and Derek’s disagreement over whether to conduct a high-risk surgery on a young boy with multiple facial tumors. Mark pushes the idea, but Derek thinks the surgery is too risky, creating contention between the two surgeons.  

Mark’s arrival at the hospital puts romantic relationships under the microscope. It becomes apparent that Mark isn’t solely holding back Derek and Addison’s marriage. Derek’s infatuation with intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) further complicates the situation. At the end of the episode, Mark and Meredith have their first one-on-one moment, where they commiserate about being in love with two people who ditched them while they try to make marriage work. 

Season 6, Episode 23, “Sanctuary”

Mark and Lexie. Lexie and Mark. One of Grey’s Anatomy’s many relationships that becomes hard not to root for as the seasons progress. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) is Meredith Grey’s half-sister, who is introduced in season four. Lexie is kind and intelligent, and she leans into a little-sister trope with her naivete. Though Derek asks Mark not to get together with Lexie, Mark of course doesn’t listen, and instead continues a romantic relationship with her behind Derek’s back. In this episode, the couple, though not romantically involved at the time, connect on a deep emotional level. The pair bond as they fight side by side for survival while an armed man forces the hospital into lockdown. 

This episode of Grey’s Anatomy is arguably one of the most tear-jerking and violent in the show’s 22-season history. Amidst the carnage within the hospital, as a recently widowed man, Gary Clark (Michael O’Neill), whose wife was a patient, stalks the hospital in search of Derek, Mark refuses to leave Lexie’s side. Mark proves that his protective nature and love for Lexie, even in the face of her being in love with someone else, is unwavering. 

When Lexie’s love interest, surgeon Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), is shot, Mark helps her tend to him, wanting to be there for Lexie in this stressful and truly heartbreaking moment. Despite competing with Alex for Lexie’s affection, he risks his own life for Alex’s because it’s what Lexie needs at that moment. While the rest of the Grey’s staff similarly fend for their lives in the hospital hallways, this episode highlights Mark’s selflessness and character growth from a playboy to a loyal savior with eyes only for Lexie.

Season 8, Episode 24, “Flight”

In this pivotal Grey’s episode, a plane crash changes everything for Lexie, Mark, and the other Grey’s doctors. Lexie gets trapped beneath the tail of the crashed plane, despite Meredith’s, Mark’s, and Derek’s efforts to rescue her from the wreckage. In this touching episode, Mark spends time with Lexie, comforting her through the whole experience and promising he will stick with her to the end. This is yet another classic Grey’s episode that focuses on fighting for survival.

The cinematography in this episode is tension-building, with Mark never letting go of Lexie’s hand. Meanwhile, Meredith searches for Derek and Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), a fellow surgeon and Meredith’s closest friend, who is in shock after the crash and is caught up in the trivial notion that she lost her shoe. After the crash, Derek injures his hand attempting to reunite with Meredith, and Arizona, a fellow doctor, gets her leg trapped. With so many injuries sustained, the episode’s biggest loss and shock occur between Lexie and Mark. Mark’s love and dedication for Lexie show up once again in “Flight,” shining through all the destruction.

Season 3, Episode 7, “Where the Boys Are”

Opening with a song by Beck, this episode starts strong. While several male doctors went on a camping trip to get a break from the operating room chaos, Mark stayed back at the hospital to flirt with Meredith and, more notably, help his patient Donna (Alexandra Billings) with a sex reassignment surgery. Mark offers support to both her and her wife alongside Meredith. The ability of doctors in Grey’s Anatomy to support and develop emotional connections with patients is made clear in this episode, as both Mark and Meredith share heartwarming moments with Donna and her wife.

When Mark tells Donna that the hormones she is taking are giving her cancer, he delivers the news with grace in this difficult situation where Donna is forced to go through cancer treatment or continue with her sex reassignment surgery. While the plot of Donna having cancer isn’t quite medically accurate, and overly dramatized because likely her treatment would not give her breast cancer, the inclusion of Donna’s surgery helps bring to light how Mark and Meredith can make their patients feel understood. Mark’s thoughtfulness in using accurate pronouns showed his ability as a doctor to deeply care about his patients. 

Between delivering devastating diagnoses, Mark talks to Meredith about her relationship with Derek and tries to convince her she is better off without him, as at this point in the show, Derek and Meredith are on a break. The pair’s banter in this episode is full of classic McSteamy one-liners, but also shows how Mark has grown closer to Meredith. Ultimately, Mark takes admirable care of his patients and gives Meredith comforting relationship advice, proving he can be an empathetic coworker and courageous surgeon.