Eric Dane reveals real reason he was fired from Grey’s Anatomy while reflecting on past struggles with addiction

Eric Dane has opened up about his departure from Grey’s Anatomy.

The Euphoria star, who is optimistic that his Emmy-winning show will return for another season, revealed that there were several reasons why he was written out of the show.

The handsome, 51-year-old actor played the role of Dr. from 2006 to 2012. Mark Sloan, aka McSteamy.

“I didn’t leave so much as I think I got fired,” he told Dax Shepherd on the Podcast by Armchair Expert.

When asked about his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction during his tenure, Dane said, “I was struggling. That’s why they didn’t let me go, although it certainly didn’t help.”

The Bad Boys: Ride or Die star said he believes the outcome led to his departure.

“I, like most actors who have spent a lot of time on the show, started paying a bigger and bigger price for the network,” he said.

“And the network knows the show is going to do what it’s going to do, no matter who they put on it. As long as they have their Gray, everything is fine.”

The character Mark Sloan died after being injured in a plane crash that took the life of his on-screen love, Dr. Lexie Grey, played by Chyler Leigh.

The actor, who had been sober for several years when he was hired for the show, admitted to relapsing during the 2007 Writers Guild of America Strike.

“I wasn’t the same guy they hired, so I understood when I was let go [show creator] “Shonda Rhimes was really great,” he said.

‘She protected us fiercely. She protected us in public, she protected us in private,” he explained

“I love Shonda Rhimes and she protected me, but I probably got fired. It wasn’t solemn, like, ‘You’re fired,’ it was just, ‘You’re not coming back.'”

The actor, who starred as Dr. Mark Sloan, aka McSteamy, said there were several reasons that led to his departure on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepherd

The actor, who had already been sober for several years when he was hired for the show, admitted he had a relapse during the Writers Guild of America strike in 2007. “I wasn’t the same person they hired, so I understood when I was fired,” he said.

The Bad Boys: Ride or Die star said he believes the bottom line also led to his departure. “I, like most actors who have spent a lot of time on the show, started to become very expensive to the network,” he said.

“If you take the entire eight years that I was on Grey’s Anatomy, I was confused for longer than I was sober, and that’s when things started going sideways for me.”

He added that the hit show’s sudden fame may have contributed to him falling off the wagon.

“It was overwhelming, and I guess I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t and be comfortable with it. Pretend you were there, but you weren’t,” he explained.

Dane returned for a cameo in Season 17, as did Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. Derek Shepher, when Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey was in a Covid coma

The only original full-time characters on Grey’s Anatomy are Chandra Wilson’s Dr. Miranda Bailey and James Pickens Jr.’s Dr. Richard Webber. Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey is now a recurring character instead of a regular

Dane currently stars in Bad Boys: Ride or Die (pictured in Los Angeles in May)

Dane returned for a guest appearance alongside Chyler Leigh in season 17, when Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Gray was in a Covid coma.

Other actors whose characters had died also returned for cameos, including Patrick Dempsey as Meredith’s late husband Dr. Derek Shepherd, TR Knight as Dr. George O’Malley and Giacomo Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca.

The only full-time original characters on Grey’s Anatomy are Dr. Miranda Bailey by Chandra Wilson and Dr. Richard Webber by James Pickens Jr. Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Gray is now a recurring character, rather than a regular character.

ABC has renewed the series for a 21st season.