Eric Dane is determined to keep acting amid ALS diagnosis

Eric Dane has no plans to slow down after his ALS diagnosis.

The star, 52, made his first red carpet appearance since announcing his diagnosis at the Los Angeles premiere of his Prime Video crime series Countdown on Wednesday. There, he told Variety he was feeling “good” and is determined to continue acting while tending to the disorder.

“It always feels great to be on a set. It’s great to be employed,” Dane said. “I love what I give. I’m going to keep doing it.” Appearing alongside costars Jensen Ackles, Jessica Camacho, Elliot Knight, Violett Beane, and Uli Latukefu, Dane added, “It’s nice to be here with everybody and see the hours and hours of work that we put into this come alive on screen.”

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological disorder that affects motor neurons, causing degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. While there is currently no cure for ALS, there are treatments that help slow progression and improve quality of life.

Earlier this week, Dane gave his first TV interview since announcing his diagnosis in April. He appeared on Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer to recount how the symptoms have affected his way of life.

“My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working,” Dane shared, noting that his left arm has also gotten considerably weaker. “I feel like maybe a couple more months and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”

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The symptoms began about a year and a half ago with weakness in his right hand, though he “didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” Dane shared. “I thought maybe I’d been texting too much or my hand was fatigued.” Of the moment he was diagnosed, he said, “I will never forget those three letters. It’s on me the second I wake up. It’s not a dream.”

Along with Countdown — about a police officer who uncovers a sinister plot after joining a secret task force to investigate a murder — Dane has several projects on the horizon, including Euphoria‘s long-awaited season 3. “You’re going to get more of the same, which I think for that show is a good thing,” Dane teased to Variety of the new season, which is expected to return some time next year. “We’re moving right along. I don’t know exactly what it is I’m doing, per se, but I trust [series creator] Sam Levinson with every fiber of my being.”

The actor is also slated to appear in director Malik Vitthal’s upcoming thriller film Family Secrets alongside Maia Mitchell, Tyriq Withers, and Thomas Doherty.