Grey’s Anatomy Star Confirms the Firing We *Never* Expected: ‘Things Started Going Sideways’
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It’s been over a decade since Eric Dane hung up his scrubs on Grey’s Anatomy, but as it turns out, it might not have been his decision. Why did Eric Dane leave Grey’s Anatomy? Here’s everything there is to know about the actor’s departure, including if he was fired.
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Why did Eric Dane leave Grey’s Anatomy?
Eric Dane joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy during Season 2 as Mark Sloan, the Head of Plastic Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital and a childhood friend of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Mark was known to be a womanizer, and he got off to a rough start in Seattle due to his affair with Derek’s ex-wife Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh).
He eventually grew to become a fan favorite and an integral character on the show, earning the nickname “McSteamy.” Mark had several different relationships during his time on Grey’s, but his most memorable romance was with Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), the little sister of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). The pair had an on-again, off-again relationship that came to a heartbreaking end in the Season 8 finale, when Lexie was killed in a plane crash. Mark’s final words to her are still quoted by fans today: “You can’t die, because we’re supposed to end up together … We are meant to be.”
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The show then hit fans with a double whammy at the end of the episode, when Mark succumbed to injuries from the same crash and also died. Following his and Lexie’s deaths, the hospital was renamed the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
At the time, Dane stated that he left the show to pursue other opportunities, but now, nearly a decade later, he has revealed that he was “let go” by ABC.
While appearing on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert on June 24, Dane explained that he had become too expensive for the network and was no longer needed. “I was starting to become, as most of these actors who have spent significant time on the show, you start to become very expensive for the network. And the network knows that the show is going to do what it’s going to do irrespective of who they keep on it as long as they have their Grey they were fine,” he said.
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Dane also said he was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at the time, which played into his exit. He had been “three or four years” sober by the time he was cast as Mark, but he relapsed at one point during his eight-year run on the show. “I didn’t really handle it very well … If you take the whole eight years I was on Grey’s Anatomy, I was f—-ed up longer than I was sober and that was when things started going sideways for me,” he said, adding that the fame he found from the show was “overwhelming.”
“I didn’t leave so much as I think I was let go … I was struggling, they didn’t let me go because of that although it definitely didn’t help,” Dane continued. “I wasn’t the same guy they had hired, so I had understood when I was let go and Shonda [Rhimes] was really great.” He added of the Grey’s Anatomy creator: “She protected us fiercely. She protected us publicly, she protected us privately … I love Shonda Rhimes and she protected me, but I was probably fired. It wasn’t ceremoniously like ‘You’re fired’ it was just like ‘You’re not coming back.'”
Despite his firing, Dane did end up coming back. In Season 17, the actor reprised his role as Mark for a COVID-induced dream sequence with Meredith, along with several other alums who had been killed off, including Patrick Dempsey, Chyler Leigh and T.R. Knight.
At the time of Dane’s departure, Rhimes explained why she chose to kill the beloved doctor off. “I had to do what was right for the integrity of the character… So Mark dies. And he and Lexie get to be together in a way. Their love remains true,” she wrote in a since-deleted blog post.
Dane was able to land on his feet, as well. He went on to star in the TNT military drama The Last Ship for all five seasons and is currently starring on Euphoria as Cal Jacobs. He also just booked a role in the new thriller drama Countdown from One Chicago veteran Derek Haas.
Grey’s Anatomy is available to stream on Hulu.
Watch ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ on Hulu
For more on Grey’s Anatomy, check out how much the cast makes — including who’s the highest-paid — in the gallery below.
