"You're not coming back"

Eric Dane spills the beans: Fired from “Grey’s Anatomy”

Eric Dane's departure from "Grey's Antamy" came as a surprise to him.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Frederic J. Brown)

Alongside Patrick Dempsey aka "Dr McDreamy", he was the absolute women's favorite on "Grey's Anatomy". That's why female fans in particular were horrified when Eric Dane suddenly left the hit series in 2012 after six seasons. 

Now the star revealed details of his departure from the TV hospital for the first time in the "Armchair Expert" podcast: "I was probably fired". Officially, it had only been said that the contract had not been renewed.

 "More often fucked up than sober"
From today's perspective, Dane understands the action of the series producers: "I was fucked up (by alcohol) more often than I was sober. And I had become very expensive like the other main actors - except that I was no longer the actor they had once hired."

He was emotionlessly informed of his dismissal in one sentence: "You're not coming back."

Eric Dane

(Bild: APA/AFP/Frederic J. Brown)

Not the first to be fired
Dane is not the only well-known Hollywood star to be suddenly fired in the middle of a series or after the start of filming a movie. Here are the best-known examples:

Mariska Hargitay: Before she became famous for the police series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", she wanted to make her big break in 1995 with the role of Queen Dulcea in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie". After four months of filming in Australia, there was an unplanned shooting stop on December 21.

Hargitay therefore flew home to the USA for Christmas at short notice. When she called the producer afterwards and asked when she would be back, he shocked her with: "You don't have to worry about that anymore, sweetheart". Hargitay was fired for breach of contract "just because I wanted to spend Christmas with my family."

Ryan Gosling: The "Barbie" boy was originally signed on as Jack Salmon for the drama film "In My Heaven". Shortly after appearing on set, he fell out with director Peter Jackson. The reason: Gosling had put on almost 30 kilos without having discussed it in advance - because, in his opinion, "that's what a father would do in his grief". Jackson fired him and gave the role to Mark Wahlberg.

Gosling in "The Hollywood Reporter": "We just had different views on what my character should look like and we just didn't talk about it beforehand. I was wrong and Peter didn't want to deal with it. So I was fat and unemployed."

Eric Stoltz: The actor, who is unknown to many today, was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest stars of the 80s. He had already shot a large part of "Back to the Future" in the role of time traveler Marty McFly when director Robert Zemeckis gave him the boot.

He found Stoltz's performance too humorless, which is why he hired Michael J. Fox as a replacement. It took Stoltz years to get over the disappointment, as he revealed to "Moviehole": "In retrospect, it was much healthier for me as a person not to have become a superstar. On the other hand, I would be unspeakably rich today - which would also be wonderful."

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in "Back to the Future"

(Bild: AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT / Mary Evans / picturedesk.com)

Megan Fox: The sexy beauty's star really rose in Hollywood with the first two episodes of "Transformers". With the 3rd part of the action series, she would have really cashed in once again. But shortly before filming began, she got carried away in an interview with "Wonderland Magazine" in 2009, comparing director Michael Bay to Napoleon and Hitler: "It's a nightmare working for this crazy man."

When producer Steven Spielberg heard the interview, he fired his leading actress. She regrets her words today, as she revealed to "Cosmopolitan": "I should have apologized - but I refused. I was so arrogant at 23."

Megan Fox in "Transformers"

(Bild: Moviestore Collection/face to fa)

Suzanne Somers: She was the undisputed star of the sitcom "Jack of Hearts with Two Ladies". That's why she decided to put the knife to the chest of ABC in 1980. She demanded to receive the same salary as her co-star John Ritter - "or I leave".

The station did not back down and fired her for her ultimatum despite her valid contract. Somers revealed to "Fox News" how a world collapsed for her at the time: "I sat at home and asked myself, why? Why weren't you happy with the fact that most people on the planet knew you? It took me a long time to get over my shock and anger."

I sat at home and wondered why? Why weren't you satisfied that most people on this planet knew you?

Suzanne Somers

Bild: APA/AFP/TARA ZIEMBA

Thomas Gibson: He became a TV star in 2005 with the FBI series "Criminal Minds". Until the actor, who was considered easily irritable, was surprisingly fired from the set in 2016.

In Variety magazine, Gibson later revealed that he had argued with producer Virgil Williams about a sentence in the script and then left the room in a huff: "He came after me and would have knocked me over if I hadn't stuck my foot out and caught him lightly on the leg. We then exchanged some very nasty words, for which I apologized the next day."

He was convinced that this was the end of the matter. Instead, when he returned to the set, he was told "to go home and not come back."

Stuart Townsend: The Irishman was cast by Peter Jackson for the lead role of Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings". He spent two months in New Zealand training with colleagues such as Orlando Bloom - including script readings.

But then came the shock, as Townsend revealed to "Entertainment Weekly": "The day before filming was due to start, I was informed that I was fired. Peter Jackson had decided at short notice that he wanted a man who was 20 years older and looked completely different for the role of Aragorn." To this day, Townsend is still annoyed about one thing: "They refused to pay me." After all, the guarantee of a gag didn't start until the first day of filming.

"Lord of the Rings" became a global success - but without Stuart Townsend

(Bild: Warner Bros./New Line Cinema)

Dennis Hopper: The "Easy Rider" star was hired for the role of Christof in the Jim Carrey film "The Truman Show" - and was fired after just three days of filming and replaced by Ed Harris.

Hopper later revealed to the website "Sabotage Times" that producer Scott Rudin had hired him against the wishes of director Peter Weir: "But Scott promised Weir that he could fire me after the first few days of shooting if it didn't work out for him. And he did indeed fire me." Hopper dismissed rumors that he couldn't remember his lines: "I was well prepared and the action was a real low blow!"

Julianne Moore: On the TV show "Watch What Happens Live", the Oscar winner revealed that she was fired a few days before the start of shooting "Can You Ever Forgive Me" 2018 due to creative differences with director Nicole Holofcener: "The official version was that I left on my own. In reality, Nicole didn't like the way I played my character in the movie and she fired me."

To this day, she can't watch the movie - her role went to Melissa McCarthy - because "it's just too painful for me!"