“Don’t you wish you took the stairs”

There’s no doubt about it, Grey’s Anatomy turns actors into stars.

Just look at what the Channel 7 [Australia] drama has done for Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl.

But something strange also happens when a performer is cast to play a guest role on the show.

More often than not the character becomes so popular that a short story arc is extended and actors find themselves signing on as regulars.

It happened to Kate Walsh when her alter-ego — Addison Montgomery Shepherd, who was recruited to play Derek Shepherd’s evil, cheating wife — evolved into a character the show’s fans came to love.

It also happened for Eric Dane, pictured, when Mark Sloan became so important to the storyline that the show’s creator, writer and producer, Shonda Rhimes, decided to make him a permanent character in season three.

While it was probably no surprise to Grey’s audience that Dane had the goods to be a regular, the 35-year-old actor was surprised when it happened.

“The way I got there was a little bit unorthodox,” Dane says.

“I didn’t know if they had any plans to keep me around and for whatever reason it happened that way. I think last season they sort of fit me in when they could.

“As for my character getting more important, I don’t know. I think now he’s been at Seattle Grace for a while and his relationships are starting to develop, I think it’s just sort of natural.

“You get a film and you get the beginning, middle and end all in two hours. In television, you have a season that runs nine, 10 months and it’s a much slower process.

“They’ve got 11, 12, 13 characters to service, so it doesn’t happen all at once but it’s nice to see.”

Dempsey has a different theory about why Dane’s character became so important, and it has a lot to do with the departure of Isaiah Washington’s Preston Burke.

“I think it’s important there’s that camaraderie and the male bonding between the two of them (Shepherd and Sloan),” Dempsey says.

“That point of view, a couple of guys hanging out together and having energy, that’s really important to the show. They’re brothers, I think that’s the thing.”

Dane agrees the established friendship between the characters has added another layer to a story that’s set around a group of people who only connected when they started working at the same hospital.

“It’s interesting to see a camaraderie that’s historic as opposed to a camaraderie that’s kind of new,” he said.

As for his character’s nickname, McSteamy, Dane has learnt to live with it. “Well, it doesn’t suck,” he says.

“I believe the name became popular because Patrick’s character McDreamy was already so popular, and I was a counterpart to him so it automatically sort of arose in the atmosphere,” he said.

“I don’t mind it, it changed my life. I haven’t seen the downside to this nickname yet. McSteamy has been good to me so far.’