Eric Danes Family Saddened by Oscars Snub

‘Second, fall in love. Not necessarily with a person, although I do recommend that as well. But fall in love with something,’ Dane said.

‘Find your passion, your joy. Find the thing that makes you wanna get up in the morning.’

He told his daughters he’d found his love for acting at their age and urged them to pursue their passions fully.

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‘Third, choose your friends wisely. Find your people and allow them to find you, and then give yourselves to them,’ the dad of two said. ‘The best of them will give back to you. No judgement. No conditions. No questions asked.’' 

Dane said he was profoundly grateful to the friends who ‘stepped up’ during his illness.

‘Just show up. And love your friends with everything you have. Hang on to them. They will entertain you, guide you support you and some will save you,’ he said.

‘Finally, fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity. When you face challenges, health or otherwise, fight,’ he said. ‘Never give up. Fight until your last breath. This disease is slowly taking my body, but it will never take my spirit.’

‘So when something unexpected hits you, and it will, because that's life, fight and face it with honesty, integrity and grace, even if it feels or seems insurmountable.’

‘I hope I've demonstrated that you can face anything. You can face the end of your days. You can face hell with dignity. Fight girls, and hold your heads high,’ he continued, his voice breaking.

‘Billie and Georgia, you are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you. Those are my last words.’

In November, Gayheart spoke about guiding their daughters through Dane’s battle with ALS on the Broad Ideas podcast.

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She said she’s been reminding them that ‘we show up for people no matter what’ as their father’s illness progresses.

‘He is our family. He is your father,’ she told them after Dane revealed his diagnosis in April.

‘We show up, and we try to do it with some dignity and some grace and just get through it.’

Still, she admitted at the time that her relationship with Dane was ‘super complicated.’

‘We’ve been separated for eight years. The kids live with me 100 percent of the time,’ she explained.

'There’s been lots of just stuff, other stuff, but I try to stay optimistic about it all.’

‘I’m trying to learn from it and [be a] role model for them [for] how to go through something like this, which is really hard,’ she added.

‘I don’t know if I’m doing it well or if I’m doing it in the wrong way or the right way. I’m just showing up. I’m showing up, and I’m trying to be there for them. I guess time will tell.’

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