<\/p>\n
When Broadway star Aaron Lazar was cast for a guest spot on the Amazon MGM series \u201cCountdown,\u201d he wasn\u2019t expecting to bond with star Eric Dane in the way that they did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I met Eric and he shook my hand, I could see and feel something was off,\u201d Lazar tells me. \u201cI asked him what was going on. Eric said to me, \u2018I think I have what you have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n Lazar was diagnosed with ALS in 2022. When Lazar filmed \u201cCountdown,\u201d it was months before Dane went public with his diagnosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in a wheelchair and I was so nervous they weren\u2019t going to be able to dress me in my suits,\u201d Lazar said, referring to his \u201cCountdown\u201d<\/a> wardrobe to play a governor. \u201cBut it turns out they knew exactly what to do because they had already been working with Eric and what he had been going through.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE: Eric Dane Walks First Red Carpet Since ALS Diagnosis, Vows to Keep Acting: \u2018It Always Feels Great to Be on Set \u2026 I\u2019m Going to Keep Doing It\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Ever since Lazar revealed he was living with the disease, he has made it his mission to educate and inspire\u2014not only about ALS, but any sort of challenge someone may be facing. He went on a year-long speaking tour and earned a Grammy nomination in 2024 for his debut album\u00a0\u201cImpossible Dream,\u201d which features a \u201cWe Are the World\u201d-like rendition of \u201cThe Impossible Dream\u201d from \u201cMan of La Mancha\u201d with Sting, Lin Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, Liz Callaway, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr., Adrienne Warren, Kelli O\u2019Hara, Norm Lewis and more.<\/p>\n He\u2019s following up his music success with \u201cImpossible Dreams,\u201d a new video podcast series presented by the ALS network, which premieres Tuesday, Oct. 7. Confirmed guests include Mark Cuban, Ben Stiller, Sara Bareilles, Gabrielle Reece, Andrew Rannells and Kristin Chenoweth, among others.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the podcast is a gathering of stories that\u00a0remind us of our own power,\u201d Lazar says. \u201cIf people walk away from an episode feeling more hopeful, more awake to what\u2019s possible in their own lives, then I\u2019m fulfilling my mission. Our mantra is: live your impossible dreams. My hope is that the podcast helps people do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Lazar\u2019s dream guest is Jim Carrey<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cJim Carrey\u00a0embodies the heart of what \u2018Impossible Dreams\u2019 is about \u2014 transformation,\u201d Lazar says. \u201cHe\u2019s an extraordinary soul who has consciously cocreated his life. He\u2019s reached the height of success and turned inward to explore meaning, consciousness, and what truly matters. I think his journey mirrors mine in some ways and our conversation would remind people that joy and awakening can coexist.\u201d<\/p>\n While there is no cure for ALS, Lazar remains optimistic about the future. \u201cI\u2019ve read more than 100 books over the last few years on healing and the nervous system and putting much of that wisdom into practice. I have learned\u00a0that with courage, hope becomes faith, and faith when practiced becomes belief, and belief when practiced becomes knowing,\u201d says Lazar, who is the father of two teenage boys with his ex-wife. \u201cWhat started as a seed of hope from within has been cultivated through a disciplined practice into a way of life. I continue to draw inspiration from books, but mainly draw inspiration from helping other people find inspiration. I guess being an inspiration, having an impact on someone else\u2019s life is an honor that deeply inspires\u00a0me.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch the music video for \u201cThe Impossible Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Broadway star Aaron Lazar was cast for a guest spot on the Amazon MGM series \u201cCountdown,\u201d he wasn\u2019t expecting to bond with star Eric Dane in the way that they did. \u201cWhen I met Eric and he shook my hand, I could see and feel something was off,\u201d Lazar tells me. \u201cI asked him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2071235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[380494,373791,354457,367407],"class_list":["post-2071234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-aaron-lazar","tag-als","tag-countdown","tag-eric-dane"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Broadways-Aaron-Lazar-on-Living-With-ALS-Filming-\u2018Countdown-With.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2071234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2071236,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2071234\/revisions\/2071236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2071235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2071234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2071234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2071234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}