The Euphoria forged is honoring costar Eric Dane after his death at age 53 following a battle with ALS.
Dane, who played Jacob Elordi’s father, Cal, since season 1, announced his diagnosis shortly before production began on the show’s final episodes.
“I actually have been diagnosed with ALS,” he said in an April 2025 statement ahead of season 3. “I’m grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter. I feel fortunate that I’m capable of proceed working and am looking forward to returning to set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you simply give my family and I privacy during this time.”
After his death, an HBO spokesperson paid tribute to Dane in an announcement, writing, “We’re deeply saddened by the news of Eric Dane’s passing. He was incredibly talented and HBO was fortunate to have worked with him on three seasons of Euphoria. Our thoughts are together with his family members during this difficult time.”
Euphoria, which premiered in 2019, originally followed troubled highschool student Rue (Zendaya) as she struggled to stay sober after rehab. The hit HBO series was quickly renewed for a second season after its premiere, nevertheless it took nearly three years for the episodes to air.
Season 3 was originally set to air on HBO in 2025 before facing several obstacles, including creator Sam Levinson’s commitment to his short-lived series The Idol. The twin WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which took place in late 2023, prolonged the delay.
Euphoria ultimately went into production later that 12 months. Since season 2 concluded, the forged went through more loss when Angus Cloud died at age 25 in July 2023 following an accidental overdose.
Dane, meanwhile, was candid about his attempts to maintain working despite the difficult battle with ALS.
“I’m not about to concede my purpose to some disease. I just am not able to doing that,” he said in a November 2025 panel discussion along side I AM ALS. “I actually have no reason to be in a great spirit at any time, on any given day. I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the following two weeks crying. And I used to be somewhat bit pleasantly surprised when I noticed that I wasn’t built like that, because I believed of course that was gonna be me.”
Euphoria will return for its third and final season on April 12, with the show expected to pay tribute to each Cloud and Dane.
Keep scrolling to see how Dane was honored by his Euphoria costars:
Sam Levinson
“I’m heartbroken by the lack of our dear friend Eric. Working with him was an honor,” the creator of the HBO series said in an announcement. “Being his friend was a present. Eric’s family is in our prayers. May his memory be for a blessing.”
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Sweeney shared a video of Eric Dane via her Instagram Stories, captioning the clip, “Without end will love you ❤️.”
Barbie Ferreira
Barbie Ferreira reshared a clip of Eric Dane with a white heart emoji via her Instagram Story.
Nika King
Nika King, who plays Leslie Bennett, shared her own tribute via Instagram.
“I remember certainly one of our last table reads for @euphoria-the level of commitment you brought into that room was undeniable. All the best way locked in,” King recalled. “That sort of artistry challenged everybody else to dig somewhat deeper. You didn’t should be in a scene with you to feel how seriously you took the responsibility of telling the story right. There’s something really special about being a part of an ensemble where even those you don’t directly create with still shape the energy of what you’re constructing together. That was the ripple effect you had.”
She continued, “I wish I’d gotten the possibility to share a scene with you. But I’m grateful we shared the identical world … the identical wild ride. You’re going to be missed. Sending prayers to your loved ones and everybody who loved you.”