Trans actress and activist fights tears as she recalls Eric Dane’s allyship
Trans actress Alexandra Billings has paid tribute to Eric Dane. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Prime Video)
Trans actress and activist Alexandra Billings held back her tears as she recalled Eric Dane’s allyship in a moving video.
Dane, who publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS in April last year, passed away on 19 February, surrounded by his family and friends.
Dane, who was best known for his role as Dr Mark “McSteamy” Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy, worked alongside Billings – who became one of TV’s first out trans stars by appearing in 2005 TV film Romy and Michele: In the Beginning – on the show in 2006.
Transparent star Billings took to Instagram on 20 February to share her tribute to Dane, who she explained wasn’t a personal friend of hers, but a work colleague.
The pair had filmed together for season three episode “Where the Boys Are”, in which she portrayed Donna Gibson, a trans woman navigating a breast cancer diagnosis while going through transitioning.
“I think this story matters because it speaks to his character, even though I only knew him for a few hours,” she said.
During the one episode that they worked together on, Billings recalled opening up to Dane about her real-life experience transitioning in the 1980s, explaining that her doctor would show quiet support during hard conversations.
“[The doctor] would let me know he saw me, no matter what we were talking about,” she explained.
Dane listened to Billings and made the decision to hold her hand to mirror the compassion she described in the scene.
Billings was later told that her emotional monologue would be cut short, but Dane stepped in.
‘It changed everything for me’
“[Eric] turns to me and he says very quietly, he says, ‘What are the five most important things you say in that monologue?’ And I told him! … One of them was about my wife.”
He then told her that they would improvise, even getting the boom mic operator to agree. “So they were all for it. And that’s what you see in the episode,” Billings said.
She added: “It changed everything for me. There was no reason in the world for him to do that. It didn’t have anything to do with him. Time is money, especially in television.”
Billings then fought back tears as she described Dane as “one of the kindest, most empathetic humans” she had ever worked with.
She shared that moments such as this were rare in career, adding: “Eric Dane showed everyone on that set what a true ally looks like.”
“It’s not just talk,” she said. “An ally is present even when there’s danger in them being present.” She concluded by thanking Dane “from all of us”.
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