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became visibly emotional while discussing his late friend and co-star .
The 60-year-old star opened up about the 'very hard’ mourning period he's been experiencing in a new interview with News Talk FM, agreeing with the journalist's words that losing a loved one is 'awful, stark and life-altering.'
Dempsey noted that he was 'very young' – just 17 years old - when his father William died, and his mother Amanda also passed away in March 2014 from ovarian .
'Now several friends in the last year, I’ve lost,' the actor said.
But Dane's death on February 19 at age 53 from ALS, a degenerative and incurable motor neuron disease that causes individuals to slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently, has struck deep.
'Eric was so beloved, and I think he would really be so happy to know - and I know a lot of people reached out to him before his passing to keep track - that he was so beloved and is deeply missed,' said Dempsey, who was three days after Dane's death.
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Patrick Dempsey (pictured on January 29) became visibly moved while discussing his late friend and Grey's Anatomy co-star Eric Dane in a new interview
The actor said the mourning period he's been experiencing has been 'very hard’ (Dane and Dempsey were pictured in January 2007)
Dane played Dr Mark Sloan - aka McSteamy - on Grey's Anatomy from season two to season nine.
Dempsey portrayed Dr Derek Shepherd – otherwise known as McDreamy – for 11 seasons from the show's first episode to when his character was killed off in 2015.
McSteamy and McDreamy were close friends and shared a brotherly bond despite their initial conflict.
The star previously praised Dane's 'great sense of humor,' saying, 'we got along instantly'
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Dane played Dr Mark Sloan - aka McSteamy - while Dempsey portrayed Dr Derek Shepherd – otherwise known as McDreamy - on the medical drama (pictured in January 2007)
McSteamy and McDreamy shared a brotherly bond despite their initial conflict and that onscreen relationship transferred to real life as the stars' friendship lasted over two decades
Dempsey (pictured on February 22) said of Dane, 'He was so beloved and is deeply missed'
'I was corresponding with him, we were texting, so I spoke to him about a week ago,' Dempsey recalled. 'Some friends of ours went in to see him and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak.
