Actors Dax Shepard and Eric Dane are friends now, but it wasn’t always this way.
In fact, the two once almost fought each other during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Shepard recalled to guest Brad Pitt on the latest episode of his Armchair Expert podcast.
“Eric Dane, who I now f–king love, I have such a sweetness for him,” Shepard began. “But when we first were around each other, it was not good. He threatened a dude in the meeting, and I said, ‘Let’s go, motherf–ker.'”
“He goes, ‘If you hit that timer again, I’m gonna f–king throw you in that candle,’” the Parenthood actor continued, laughing at the memory. “And I go, ‘That’s it, motherf–ker. Let’s go. Stand up, let’s go outside.’ He stands up, we go outside and I’m about to beat the f–k out of him — at an AA meeting, where we’re coming for healing and understanding.”
However, the story had a happy ending for both parties. “But what’s great is, we’re friends now and we told that story on the podcast and it’s quite a hilarious beginning for us, and now I love him,” he concluded.
Shepard is referring to an Armchair Expert episode that aired last June, in which Dane told his side of the story.
“I was not in the best space, let’s just say that,” the Euphoria star said. “I may not have even been sober at the time. So we’re outside and Dax is like, ‘What the f–k was that about, man?’ And just as I’m about to open my mouth, our sponsor comes out and gets in between the middle of us.”
Eventually, the interaction turned to Shepard “falling in love” with Dane’s personality and honesty, and he admitted they were both grappling with the “same bag of bulls–t” at the time.
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Eric Dane attends the ‘Countdown’ premiere and after-party on June 18, 2025
“You acknowledged something I said in your chair and you actually said to the group, ‘You know, I hated you for so long, but I’ve come to really love you,'” Dane said to Shepard. “And I think I might’ve returned the favor in the middle of the room.”
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Shepard, who is married to actress Kristen Bell, with whom he shares two daughters, has been open about his struggles with substance abuse and sobriety for years. Dane, too, has been open about his journey to sobriety over the years.
The Grey’s Anatomy actor made headlines in April, when he first announced his ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) diagnosis, after nine months of testing.
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