What happened between Dax Shepard and Eric Dane? Armchair Expert podcaster opens up about their AA meeting encounter

Dax Shepard shared his first encounter with fellow actor Eric Dane in the June 23, 2025, episode of his podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. The Parenthood actor told the episode's guest, Brad Pitt, about how he met Dane at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting.

Dax Shepard shared that in the AA meeting, Eric Dane got into an argument with another man and threatened him. Shepard then intervened and got involved in the fight.

"Eric Dane, who I now f**king love, I have such a sweetness for him. 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, and I go, 'That's it, motherf**ker. Let's go. Stand up, let's go outside,'" Shepard said.

Shepard then stated they almost got into a physical fight. He shared that after the incident, he and Dane became friends, and they shared the story publicly as it was a "hilarious beginning" for them.

"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... 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," Shepard stated.

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Eric Dane shared his side of the AA meeting fight last year

Eric Dane attends the "Countdown" Premiere and After-Party - (Image via Getty)

According to E! News' June 24, 2025, report, Eric Dane shared his side of the story in June 2024, when the actor appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast.

The actor stated that he was not sober then and was not in "the best space" mentally. Dane shared that the two actors stepped outside to fight, and were stopped by a sponsor of the AA meeting.

"I was not in the best space, let's just say that. 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," Dane said.

Dax Shepard stated that he ended up liking the actor's personality as they were going through "same bag of bullsh*t." The Grey's Anatomy actor also said that he came to "love" Shepard eventually.

"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, and I think I might've returned the favor in the middle of the room," Dane stated.

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Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, is available on their website, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify.

Meanwhile, in April 2025, Eric Dane announced that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Edited by Ameen Fatima