Eric Dane's Final Words to Kids Recorded Before His Death

Eric Dane's death from ALS has left fans reeling, but it's his family he was most concerned with at the end. People reports that the Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria actor recorded a final interview with Netflix's Famous Last Words before he died, with thoughts specifically for his two daughters, 15-year-old Billie and 14-year-old Georgia, whom he shares with ex Rebecca Gayheart. Some standout quotes and advice from Dane to his kids:

• "First, live now. Right now. In the present. It's hard, but I learned to do that."
• "Second, fall in love. Not necessarily with a person, although I do recommend that as well. But fall in love with something. Find your passion, your joy. Find the thing that makes you want to get up in the morning."
• "Third, choose your friends wisely. Find your people and allow them to find you. And then give yourselves to them. The best of them will give back to you. No judgment, no conditions, no questions asked."
• "Finally, fight with every ounce of your being and with dignity. When you face challenges, health or otherwise, fight. Never give up. Fight until your last breath." He added at the time: "This disease is slowly taking my body, but it will never take my spirit."
• His final conclusion to his girls: "I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried. Overall, we had a blast, didn't we?"

Dane also spoke on his relationship with Gayheart, whom he married in 2004 and separated from in 2018. Gayheart withdrew her divorce petition after Dane's ALS diagnosis and has been helping to care for him since, although they've both dated other people, per Page Six. "We still love each other deeply," Dane said in the Netflix interview, adding with a grin, "I just think we don't wanna live with each other." He added, "I will never, by the time anybody sees this, have fallen in love with another woman as deeply as I fell in love with Rebecca." Gayheart, for her part, has previously said, per People: "It's a very complicated relationship, one that's confusing for people. Our love may not be romantic, but it's a familial love."

Those in the actor's professional orbit are now paying tribute to Dane. Grey's co-star Patrick Dempsey, who played Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd alongside Dane's Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan, said Friday on a UK morning program that how he feels about his colleague's death is "hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children," per Today. He called Dane "easy to work with" and said they "got along instantly."

Dempsey also recalled Dane's very first scene on Grey's, when Dane emerged "in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on, looking amazing, making me feel completely out of shape and insignificant." Dempsey insisted, however, that there "was never really any competition." Per Deadline, other stars who've spoken on Dane's death include Grey's co-stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver, as well as showrunner Shonda Rhimes, who noted online that she was "grateful for the artistry, spirit, friendship, and humanity [Dane] shared with us for so many years."