Eric Dane has been out of the spotlight recently as he continues his fight against battle amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Dane, 52, isn’t letting the debilitating disease keep him away from the Emmys this weekend though. On Tuesday, CBS and the Television Academy announced the full list of presenters for Sunday’s 77th Emmy Awards (8 p.m. ET, CBS).
Dane’s name is on the list, alongside fellow A-listers such as Sydney Sweeney, Angela Bassett, Kristen Bell, Mariska Hargitay, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Sterling K. Brown, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and others.
This will be Dane’s first major public appearance since walking the red carpet for his Amazon Prime Video series, “Countdown” back in June.
That night also marked Dane’s first time out with his new girlfriend, director and photographer Janell Shirtcliff.
Dane not done fighting
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Eventually, the incurable condition causes loss of muscle control all over the body and results in death.
Dane revealed his heartbreaking diagnosis back in April. In June, the Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star shared more details on his fight in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.
Revealing that his first symptom was weakness in his right hand, Dane detailed the disease’s progression in the 18 months since he noticed something wasn’t right.
“My left side is functioning. My right side has completely stopped working,” Dane told Sawyer. “[My left arm] is going. I feel like maybe a couple, few more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”
Despite the daunting future ahead of him, Dane said he refuses to give up hope.
“I don’t think this is the end of my story,” he explained. “I just don’t feel like, in my heart, that this is the end of me. I’m fighting as much as I can. There’s so much about it that’s out of my control.”
His family is by his side
In addition to the support of Shirtcliff, his girlfriend, Dane’s wife Rebecca Gayheart called off their pending divorce amid his health struggle.
“We are best friends. We are really close. We are great co-parents,” Gayheart said back in April. “We really figured out the formula to staying a family and I think our kids are benefiting greatly from it and we are as well.”
Dane and Gayheart, whose divorce was initiated in 2018, shared two children, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13.
