Take the BuddyTV Personality Quiz: Which Grey's Anatomy Character Are You? Eric William Dane was born on November 9, 1972 in San Francisco. Born to an architect/interior designer father and a stay-at-home mother, Dane grew up with only one sibling. He displayed great athletic abilities when he was young, and was an active player in high school. As he was pursuing his secondary education, he discovered his passion for acting when he performed in his school's production of All My Sons.
Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Dane was cast in the popular television series, The Wonder Years, and followed that role with appearances on the shows Saved by the Bell, Married...with Children and Roseanne. From 2000-2001, he portrayed Dr. Cooper in the Golden Globe-nominated drama series, Gideon's Crossing. Later on, he spent two seasons on the WB fantasy series, Charmed and eventually was cast in the role of Dr. Mark Sloan in the popular drama series Grey's Anatomy. For the show, his first scene required him to come out of a bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist. Dane had to use double-stick tape to keep the towel from falling off his body.
Dane's other acting projects include five made-for-tv movies (Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammemeyer Story, Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story, Painkiller Jane, Ball & Chain, Wedding Ward, and Helter Skelter), and starring roles in the films The Basket, Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane, Sol Goode, Feast, Open Water 2 (also known as Adrift) and X-Men: The Last Stand.
While shooting crossover episodes of Gideon's Crossing and The Practice, Dane met actress Lara Flynn Boyle, whom he dated for a short period of time. In 2004, he tied the knot with actress Rebecca Gayheart, who was previously engaged to X-Men: The Last Stand producer/ director Brett Ratner. The couple was married in Las Vegas, and in their haste, asked their cab driver to act as Dane's best man.
(Photos courtesy of ABC)