Eric Dane
Dane at the red carpet of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, April 2008
Born	November 9, 1972 (1972-11-09) (age 39) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1991 – present
Spouse	Rebecca Gayheart (2004-present; 2 children)

Eric Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After appearing in television roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he became known for playing Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan on the series Grey's Anatomy, and has recently branched into film, co-starring in Marley & Me, Valentine's Day, and Burlesque.

Early life

Dane was born in San Francisco, California to a homemaker mother, Leah, and an interior designer/architect father.^[1][2] He has a younger brother.^[3] Dane was raised in his mother's Jewish religion.^[4][5] He attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, from 1987 to 1990, and San Mateo High School in San Mateo, California, from 1990 to 1991, where he graduated.^{[citation needed]} Dane was an athlete in high school, playing on the Boys' Varsity water polo team,^[6] but decided to pursue a career in acting after appearing in a school production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons.^[7][8]

Career

In 1993, Dane moved to Los Angeles,^[6] where he played small roles in the television series Saved by the Bell, The Wonder Years, Roseanne, and Married With Children, among others. But in 2000, he was signed for a recurring role in Gideon's Crossing, and followed this with a two-season run in Charmed. His made-for-television movie credits included two biopics, Serving in Silence (about Margarethe Cammermeyer's experiences in the military), and Helter Skelter, in which he portrayed Charles "Tex" Watson, a member of the Manson family.

Dane's first major feature film appearance was in The Basket (1999). He also appeared in Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane, Sol Goode, Feast, Open Water 2, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

In 2005, Dane guested as Dr. Mark Sloan (nicknamed "McSteamy" by Meredith Grey) in "Yesterday," the eighteenth episode of the second season of the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Positive audience reaction to the character led to Dane's becoming a regular in the show's third season. His first appearance in the season, in which he walked out of the bathroom soaking wet and wearing only a strategically placed towel, was labeled a "watercooler moment."^[9]

In December 2006, he starred in the A&E TV movie Wedding Wars as the brother of a gay man (played by John Stamos) who goes on strike in support of marriage equality.

Dane, alongside Patrick Dempsey, appeared in the same big-screen project, the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine's Day. The Garry Marshall-directed film followed five interconnecting stories about Los Angelenos anticipating (or in some cases dreading) the holiday.^[10]

Dane is represented by Creative Artists Agency, and William Choi of Management 360.^[11]

Personal life

Dane married actress Rebecca Gayheart on October 29, 2004. Dane and Gayheart's first child, a daughter, Billie Beatrice, was born March 3, 2010.^[12][13] On December 28, 2011, the couple's second daughter, Georgia Geraldine, was born. ^[14]

Dane made headlines when he participated in a nude tape with his wife and Kari Ann Peniche.^[15]

Eric Dane checked himself into rehab in June 2011 and was soon finished with his 30 day therapy, "He reports back to work next week," said his rep. "Business as usual." Dane entered a California treatment center to rectify his problem with dependency on prescription drugs after suffering a sports injury.^[16]

Filmography

References

External links

• Eric Dane at the Internet Movie Database
• Flaunt Magazine Eric Dane feature