Jamie-Lynn Sigler Was “Thrilled” For Eric Dane’s ‘Brilliant Minds’ Role Amid ALS Diagnosis: “That’s A Gift”
While preparing for a Grey’s Anatomy guest arc that mirrors her own health journey, Jamie-Lynn Sigler is praising other working actors dealing with illness.
The actress recently said she “was thrilled” to see Eric Dane appear in a November episode of NBC‘s Brilliant Minds as a firefighter coming to terms with his ALS diagnosis, after the actor revealed he has the same disease back in April.
“I think to be able to be in this moment of his life and still get to act, still get to tell his story, and still do what he loves, despite what’s happening to his body — I was thrilled for him and others that are like him to have that representation,” she told The Independent. “That’s a gift.”
Sigler added, “That’s a gift to give to him for so many reasons and to other people as well.”
Brilliant Minds showrunner Michael Grassi previously told Deadline he was “a huge Eric Dane fan” before the actor’s team reached out about being on the show.
Eric Dane and Zachary Quinto on ‘Brilliant Minds’
Pief Weyman/NBC
“So when I heard he wanted to be on Brilliant Minds, I was so excited by the opportunity to tell a story with him and what he’s currently dealing with,” said Grassi, adding: “I remember our conversations very quickly started circling this very simple idea of what is it like for a family to navigate a difficult diagnosis. There’s no rule book. There’s no guide. There’s no right way. There’s no wrong way, and it’s really hard. So we just wanted to show, especially for our Thanksgiving episode, what is it like for a family to have to work through this together?”
Over at Dane’s ABC alma mater, Grey’s Anatomy, Sigler will appear in this Thursday’s Season 22 episode ‘Heavy on Me‘ as Dr. Laura Kaplan, a urologist living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The role was written for Sigler, who has lived with MS for more than two decades.
