In the months before his death, Eric Dane recorded an interview for Netflix in which he left a deeply personal message for his two daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14.
The Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star, 53, died Thursday after a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), nearly a year after publicly revealing his diagnosis.
In the wake of his passing, Netflix added the new documentary to its library, giving fans an intimate look at Dane's final reflections.
The 50-minute film, titled Famous Last Words: Eric Dane, was recorded in secret with the understanding it would only be released posthumously, according to People.
Toward the end of the interview, Dane addressed his daughters directly, speaking to the camera with them in mind: 'Billie and Georgia, these words are for you. I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried.'
He continued, 'Overall, we had a blast, didn’t we?'
In the months before his death, Eric Dane recorded a private, final interview in which he left a deeply personal message for his two daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14; (pictured May 2024)
The 50-minute film, titled Famous Last Words: Eric Dane, was recorded in secret with the understanding it would only be released posthumously; (Rebecca Gayheart, Eric, Georgia and Billie in 2017)
Dane went on to explain that he wanted to share four final lessons he had learned from his illness and asked them to listen closely.
‘First, live now, right now in the present. It's hard, but I learned to do that,’ Dane said.
‘For years, I would wander off mentally, lost in my head for long chunks of time, wallowing in worry and self-pity, shame and doubt. I replayed decisions, second-guessed myself. "I shouldn't have done this. I never should've done that." No more.’
Dane said that ‘out of pure survival,’ he was forced to stay in the present.
‘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.
‘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.’
‘Billie and Georgia, you are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you. Those are my last words.' Dane said ; (pictured in I AM ALS panel in 2025)
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 d on the Broad Ideas podcast.
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.’
