Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey opened up on how Eric Dane’s death affected him

Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey opened up on how Eric Dane’s death affected him.

"I just woke up this morning, and it was very sad to read the news. It's hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children," Patrick, who played Dr. Derek Shepherd, said on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio. 

"I was corresponding with him; we were texting, so I spoke to him about a week ago, and some friends of ours went in to see him, and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak. He was bedridden, and it was very hard for him to swallow, so the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly.

"He was the funniest man—he was such a joy to work with, and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it. He had a great sense of humor."

He continued, "He was easy to work with; we got along instantly. The first scene was him, you know, in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on, looking amazing, making you feel completely out of shape and insignificant.

"He's wickedly intelligent, and I'm always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people's lives, and the real loss is for us who don't have him anymore.

"He did an incredible job at bringing awareness to this horrible disease and those remaining days, and it just reminds us that we all have to celebrate every day like it's our last day."

Patrick also said, "It's something that we have to remember, and certainly in a world where there is just so much crisis and there is so much tragedy, we really need to be grateful for every moment that we have."