Eric Dane

Eric Dane (born Eric T. Melvin, November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After appearing in television roles throughout the 2000s such as Charmed, he became known for playing Dr. Mark Sloan on the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, as well as films, co-starring in Marley & Me (2008), Valentine's Day (2010), and Burlesque (2010). He stars as Captain Tom Chandler in the apocalyptic drama The Last Ship. 2Early life Dane was born in San Francisco, California, to a homemaker mother and an interior designer/architect father, William Melvin. When Dane was 7 years old, his father died of a gunshot wound. Dane's father had English, Scottish and German ancestry, while Dane's mother has Ashkenazi Jewish (her family is from Austria and Russia) and Finnish ancestry. Dane has a younger brother, and they were raised in their mother's Jewish religion (Dane had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony). He attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, from 1987 to 1990, and San Mateo High School in San Mateo, California, from 1990 to 1991, where he graduated. Dane was an athlete in high school, playing on the boys' varsity water polo team, but pursued a career in acting after appearing in a school production of Arthur Miller's All My Son