Eric Dane revealed how a scripted fight with Josh Duhamel nearly turned into a real confrontation during their time on “Las Vegas.”
In his posthumous memoir, “My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments,” the late actor recalled losing his temper after Duhamel repeatedly ignored a request during filming.
Eric Dane recalls things getting heated with actor Josh Duhamel during fight scene in memoir
According to Entertainment Weekly, Dane revisited the 2004 incident in his memoir, which was released on November 3, months after his death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in February. The actor had also experienced health setbacks during his battle with ALS.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum appeared as Leo Broder in the second season of NBC’s “Las Vegas,” which starred Duhamel as Danny McCoy.
At the time, Dane was struggling with a herniated cervical disc in his neck. Before filming a fight sequence, he specifically asked Duhamel not to pull his tie because of the injury.
Although Duhamel agreed, Dane claimed his co-star grabbed the tie during the first take, causing him considerable pain.
Dane stopped filming and explained the problem. Duhamel apologized, but the same thing reportedly happened during their second attempt.
Frustrated, Dane approached a producer and warned, “You better rein in your boy.”
Duhamel reportedly apologized again, explaining that he had gotten carried away during the scene. However, the third take allegedly ended with another painful tug on Dane’s tie.
This time, Dane lost his patience. He removed his jacket, clenched his fists and approached Duhamel as though he intended to fight him.
The cameras continued rolling, which Dane believed made him appear responsible for starting the confrontation.
Despite the heated encounter, the two actors later reconciled. Dane acknowledged that he had handled the situation poorly and apologized to Duhamel in his memoir.
“Josh and I have seen each other since and we’re cool. But I want to say it again. Josh, I was wrong. I should’ve walked away. I’m sorry, dude,” he wrote.
In a separate September interview, Duhamel discussed how intensely he approached certain roles, including his “Las Vegas” character.
He explained that portraying Danny McCoy’s struggles after returning from Iraq required him to enter a difficult emotional state. Duhamel also acknowledged that his acting approach sometimes affected his interactions with colleagues.
However, he did not directly connect those remarks to Dane’s account of their confrontation.
Entertainment Weekly contacted Duhamel’s representative for comment on the memoir. Although the incident nearly escalated into a physical fight, Dane’s final reflections make it clear that he regretted his reaction and had moved past the disagreement.
