Eric Dane's "Grey's Anatomy" Success | Late Night with Conan O’Brien

0:00 My next guest is one of the stars of the hit ABC series Grey's Anatomy.

0:04 Please welcome Eric Dayne.

0:20 Ladies,

0:22 that's very nice.

0:23 That is nice.

0:23 The shrieking wherever you go.

0:30 Hello Uh, very nice.

0:31 It took me a while to get used to that.

0:32 Right.

0:33 Right.

0:36 Um, you're uh, let's so much to talk about.

0:38 First of all, it's great to be

0:40 on a show and playing a character that's so massive,

0:43 so huge that you have a nickname, MC Steamy.

0:45 DO YOU DO YOU LIKE do you like that?

0:49 That's when you know you've arrived, I think.

0:51 Well, it's it's it's I I haven't entirely gotten used to it yet.

0:55 I actually didn't even know that I was referred

0:57 to as McSt until my wife saw the episode and told me.

1:00 Right.

1:01 Um, so you weren't reading the whole script.

1:02 You were reading your part.

1:04 Well, we didn't know.

1:04 We didn't get We didn't get the whole script.

1:06 Oh, you just gave me the whole script.

1:07 They had a scene that that they had mocked up for the reading

1:09 that I read and it it didn't say anything about Mc Steamy,

1:12 but nothing bad has come of it.

1:14 So, that Yeah, I don't think so.

1:16 Yeah.

1:16 We actually have You're You're known for this famous

1:19 towel scene and uh that people talk about.

1:23 We actually have, I think, a little still from that scene.

1:25 There you are.

1:26 That's showing that's showing a uh a lot of skin.

1:32 Yeah, it's showing a lot more.

1:33 We couldn't get the actual photo,

1:35 so we put uh your head on my body uh just to very ABC wouldn't cooperate.

1:41 Um, you didn't know that you were going to be that revealing because,

1:46 you know, people are used to seeing, you know,

1:48 going back 20, 30 years, there have been towel scenes,

1:50 but this one was more revealing than most seen on network television.

1:53 Was that an accident?

1:54 I don't think we planned that.

1:55 No, I uh it was tough to get the towel to stay.

1:57 It was a new towel, and it was hard to get it to stay.

1:59 So, we used lots of double double stick.

2:01 Blame the towel.

2:02 Yeah.

2:02 Right.

2:03 Lots of

2:04 It was a rookie It was a rookie towel.

2:05 It didn't know what it was doing.

2:07 It It hadn't The towel hadn't been washed yet.

2:09 Uh-huh.

2:09 Uh-huh.

2:10 And you know, of course, how the towels are when they haven't been washed,

2:13 but common is common knowledge in the towel world.

2:18 Yeah.

2:18 But, uh, we use lots of double stick tape and, uh,

2:21 I I ended up getting it to stay.

2:24 Luckily, right.

2:25 So, I'd tie it off and I'd let my hands go

2:27 and and throw caution to the wind and and see what happens.

2:30 That could be very uncomfortable on a set in front of 40, 50 people.

2:33 On a beach, it's different.

2:35 Right.

2:35 On a set when everybody else is fully clothed, it's a little weird.

2:38 Sure.

2:38 Sure.

2:39 So, the towel started to go and you grabbed it at the last second.

2:41 Towel never went.

2:42 I got lucky.

2:43 Oh, okay.

2:43 Very good.

2:44 Or

2:45 some women believe you're unlucky.

2:47 Yeah.

2:47 Good for me.

2:48 Uh, you know, it's funny because, uh,

2:51 you know, when you I was thinking about this.

2:52 When you audition for a role like this, obviously you're a fine actor,

2:55 you're very good-looking guy, but they don't know what kind of shape you're in.

2:58 So, that must unless they ask you to take off your shirt.

3:01 They're going on faith a little bit that you might

3:03 look like this, but then take off your shirt, you know.

3:07 I just I put that on the resume.

3:08 Oh, you put that on the resume

3:10 before they get to the boring credits and and and things of that nature.

3:13 I just put I look great with my shirt off.

3:17 It's a good It's good to have that there

3:20 cuz I wrote that down too.

3:21 Well, when all else failed, I mean,

3:24 true.

3:23 You can be an awful actor, just take your shirt off.

3:26 Right.

3:27 Right.

3:27 Well, it's it's working.

3:28 I want to ask you one question.

3:31 Yeah.

3:31 This just came out.

3:32 I don't know which magazine.

3:33 Which magazine was this?

3:34 Was this InTouch or Style Weekly or Us?

3:37 Okay.

3:38 Um, US came out with this photo and I thought

3:40 this was crazy cuz they found I think your prom photo

3:43 looks maybe a little younger than that.

3:45 Yeah.

3:45 And they put this I don't know if you can see this here but they put McGee on it

3:52 and I was like looking at you and I'm thinking

3:54 you look better than anybody I knew in high school.

3:57 I think uh I don't know what they're talking about.

3:59 You're

4:00 I know.

4:00 I would have to agree with the McGeeki.

4:02 Really?

4:02 No.

4:03 You don't know what you you don't have the proper frame of reference.

4:05 Take a look at my high school.

4:06 This is a picture of me in my high school year.

4:08 Uh this is you're right.

4:14 You're wet.

4:16 But I look great with my shirt off.

4:18 Uh um yeah, right.

4:21 Uh this I was fascinated to learn this.

4:25 Uh your first real TV job was on Save by the Bell.

4:28 It was

4:31 It was It was I was I was uh I was Tad the evil volleyball player.

4:37 I don't necessarily know if the two go together, but

4:40 the evil volleyball player.

4:41 The evil volleyball player.

4:42 Yeah, because there's something very menacing about volleyball players.

4:46 So, I was sent in a rough uh screech up.

4:49 I actually learned a very I love that.

4:52 Get in there and rough up screech.

4:53 I looked I looked like the guy in the picture when I did it.

4:55 So, what what's that saying about screech?

4:58 Right.

4:58 Right.

4:59 But I went in and uh I I learned a very important uh lesson,

5:02 acting lesson there that the director was the only

5:04 one on the set allowed to yell cut.

5:07 And I would do these scenes and it was my first job.

5:09 And uh

5:09 How old are you at this time?

5:10 Probably 17, 18.

5:13 Right.

5:12 I would do these scenes and you know,

5:13 if I didn't like what I was doing, I'd just yell cut.

5:17 I love a 17-year-old doing that.

5:19 And cut.

5:20 This isn't happening.

5:20 Let's try it from a different angle.

5:22 Let's get the And uh he schooled me

5:25 the director.

5:26 Yes.

5:26 On the decorum that you have to maintain around a set.

5:28 And apparently I wasn't allowed to yell cut.

5:30 Right.

5:30 Right.

5:31 But you did get to beat up Dustin Diamond.

5:33 I think that would be

5:34 I did.

5:35 That was

5:36 I did.

5:38 Look at that footage over and over and over again.

5:41 Um

5:41 when I want to feel good about myself.

5:43 Yeah.

5:43 And uh I want to mention quickly,

5:45 we don't have time to but this is excit

5:46 you you got this is very interesting to me.

5:48 You got married to your wife, actress Rebecca Gayart.

5:51 Yes.

5:51 in uh and you did it in Las Vegas.

5:54 We went to a very seedy uh chapel in Vegas.

5:57 Not like a chic sided chapel, but like a legitimately not a kitschy ironic.

6:03 It's an Elvis.

6:03 No, no, no, no.

6:04 I I actually had I paid my cabbie 50 bucks to be

6:06 my best man cuz I wanted to legitimize the whole thing.

6:10 Well, I think you succeeded.

6:11 Yeah.

6:11 Right.

6:13 Memories forever.

6:14 Yeah.

6:14 Uh but uh the the interesting thing was

6:16 they didn't they didn't even have you know

6:17 usually you have an Elvis impersonator that you

6:19 can take pictures with after to create more memories.

6:22 And uh all we had was a an Elvis statue and it looked like they just

6:27 ripped off of Bob's big boy and and painted

6:29 on some sideburns and threw on some glasses.

6:31 So it's like a childish uh chubby Elvis.

6:35 Very Yeah.

6:35 Yeah.

6:36 Wearing overalls.

6:37 Wearing overalls and shorts.

6:38 Checker shorts and holding a giant hamburger.

6:40 Hamburger, right?

6:41 That's not good.

6:42 Just crop it out.

6:43 That's not good.

6:44 Oh, it's still not.

6:44 Congratulations on that.

6:45 Of course, the uh well,

6:46 I have to mention the Grey's Anatomy season finale airs Thursday at 9 on ABC.

6:53 It's a good thing I got the word out on that.

6:55 Thank you.

6:56 All of America, when's this thing happening?

7:00 Everybody, maybe Conan will tell us.

7:02 Uh but but congratulations on all your success and thanks so much for doing it.

7:06 Here, Eric Dane.

7:08 We'll be right back with the MTVU Best Music on Campus winner.

7:11 to stick around.