“Billie and Georgia, you are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you. Those are my last words.”
Eric Dane, best known for starring in Euphoria, passed away on February 19, 2026, at the age of 53, after publicly announcing his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Those who worked with him said he stayed focused, calm, and determined to finish what he started.
Confronting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease that affects muscle control, Dane described his spirit as buoyant. “There’s no reason for me to be happy in any individual moment, but I am,” underscoring his resilience and perspective.
He also opened up to Brad Falchuk during their confidential taping of Famous Last Words in November 2025: “I can feel lonely in a crowded room.”
HBO’s Euphoria Season 3, Eric Dane has wrapped his last day on set as Cal Jacobs for the series, which premieres April 12, 2026.
In the final chapter of Eric Dane’s career, his work continued even as his health declined. One of his most meaningful last performances was in Euphoria Season 3. He filmed his final scenes as Cal Jacobs before his passing. The new season, set to premiere on April 12, 2026, now carries a deeper weight. For many viewers, seeing him on screen again will feel like a final goodbye.
Eric Dane is best known for two iconic television roles that made him widely recognized around the world. He first became a fan favorite as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, where he appeared from 2006 to 2012. His character was confident, charming, and complex. Years later, he introduced a very different side of his acting with the role of Cal Jacobs on Euphoria from 2019 to 2026. In this series, he played a strict and troubled father hiding dark secrets.
In the first season of Euphoria, Cal Jacobs was presented as a powerful but deeply disturbing figure. To people in his town, he appeared to be a respected businessman and a strict, controlling father. But to viewers, he was living a dark double life, hiding dangerous secrets behind his polished image.
The central conflict grew from his secret encounters with Jules Vaughn and his disturbing habit of recording and keeping his private “trophies.” These hidden actions created intense tension and helped establish him as one of the show’s most frightening antagonists.
Audiences saw a softer side of Cal in Season 2, learning of the sorrow and forbidden love that shaped him, and how those wounds gave rise to his bitterness.
“I am who I am” is widely regarded as one of the most unforgettable TV moments in Euphoria Episode 4, when Cal shocks his family by urinating in the foyer and declaring those words in a tense confrontation.
He also completed work on Family Secrets, a thriller film still in post-production. The movie is expected to show one of his last film performances. In addition, a special interview series titled Famous Last Words was released on Netflix on February 20, 2026. In it, Dane spoke openly about his life, his legacy, and shared a heartfelt final message for his daughters — words that now feel even more powerful and deeply personal.
