Dax Shepard Recalls Time He Was Ready to Fight Eric Dane at AA Meeting: ‘Let’s Go Outside’

In an episode of his podcast, ArmChair Expert, Shepard shared to guest Brad Pitt about how the two almost got into a fight at a men’s group Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

“In the middle of the meeting, he goes, ‘If you hit that timer again, I’m gonna f–king throw you in that candle,'” Shepard recalled of Dane losing it at one of his friends during the meeting.

Shepard’s immediate response was to say to Dane, “That’s it, motherf–ker, let’s go. Stand up, let’s go outside.”

“I’m gonna beat the f–k out of him in Tom’s driveway,” he told Pitt on his latest podcast episode. “At an AA meeting, where we’re coming for healing and understanding.”

Although they had their fiery moment once upon a time, Shepard reassured listeners that he and Dane are now good friends.

“Eric Dane, who I now f–king love, I have such a sweetness for him, we all had a mini-group. He was hosting. But when we first were around each other, it was not good,” the Baby Mama star admitted.

Shepard and Dane previously talked about their confrontation when Dane was a guest on Armchair Expert in June 2024. Dane shared his side of the story, and his thought process at the time.

“Somebody I brought … who probably shouldn’t have been at the meeting … did not stop, was droning on,” he remembered. “Dax’s friend … kept resetting this timer every time the guy would go over. The timer went off, like, seven times.”

The Grey’s Anatomy actor then confessed he threatened to set the person “ablaze” and that’s when Shepard got involved, calling him outside for a brawl. However, the fight never happened because their sponsor stepped in and stopped the argument from escalating.

Shepard said he and Dane ultimately bonded over their shared love of cars and the fact that they carry “the exact same bag of bulls–t.”

In the latest podcast, Pitt also recalled the bonding he experienced in the men’s group and shared it was something he’ll always value.

“It was AA. It was when I was first getting sober. I just thought it was just incredible,” he said. “Men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience.”