Mark Sloan

Mark Sloan is a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actor Eric Dane.

Childhood and growing up
Mark was born to an upper-class but emotionally distant family in New York City. His parents would often go out at night, leaving him alone. At night, he would turn on all the lights and watch television, finding it hard to sleep.

At a young age, he befriended Derek Shepherd and when Derek's mother, Carolyn, saw how lonely he was, she encouraged Derek to bring him home, eventually Mark became like a second son to the Shepherd family, in particular Derek whom he saw as a brother.

Personal Life
His friendship with Derek lasted throughout childhood and into their adult years, and Mark was Derek's best man at his wedding to Addison Montgomery. As Derek and Addison's marriage became strained, Mark and Addison grew closer, and eventually Mark slept with Addison, only for Derek to catch them in the act.

After Derek declared his marriage to Addison and friendship with Mark over and left town, Mark and Addison lived together for two months. During this time, Addison became pregnant with Mark's baby. He was initially excited about the pregnancy, but Addison had an abortion amidst rumors of Mark's infidelity, and soon left Mark to follow Derek to Seattle.

Mark portrays himself as a confident and often arrogant man, but admits to Meredith Grey that: "My 400 dollar an hour shrink says...behind this rugged and confident exterior, I’m self destructive and self loathing to an almost pathological degree." Mark has commitment issues, likely stemming from his emotionally challenged relationship with his parents, and his friendship with Derek was his single longest relationship. He has a long history of womanizing and one-night stands, and is somewhat indiscriminate about his partners, admitting to affairs with not only Addison but also his tennis partner's wife. Mark is impatient and shows disdain for the responsibility of training interns, but he is also intelligent and conniving, and not above using others to advance his own agenda. He is on good terms with Meredith, being Adisson's and Derek's amant, he listened to her when she told him to give up on Addisson (though he is currently dating her sister Lexie, despite being forbidded to by Derek). He also know that Meredith can make him gain points with Richard Webber.

Mark first appeared in Seattle shortly after the bomb scare at the hospital with the sole intention of bringing Addison back to New York. During this visit, Meredith, Cristina and Izzie discussed a nickname for Mark. They came up with such names as "McSexy" and "McYummy". Meredith was the one who came up with the name "McSteamy". From that moment on, the interns regularly used the nickname behind Sloan's back. He eventually found out about the nickname when Meredith, who was under the influence of painkillers, called to him ''"McSteamy! Woo hoo!" to which he replied,"Is that what you're calling me now? McSteamy?" She responded by saying,"Yeah, but I don't think you're supposed to know that."'' Addison rejected Mark's offer to bring her back to New York and Derek rejected his apology, leaving Mark to return empty-handed to New York.

Upon his return, he was not warmly welcomed by Addison or Derek, although he desperately wanted to repair his relationships with both. He carried on a brief fling with Callie Torres before she reconciled with George O’Malley, and developed a friendship with Meredith, although he hit on her before she and Derek resumed their relationship. Mark disliked Seattle, annoyed by the weather and the perceived inadequacies of the city in comparison to Manhattan, and was also discouraged by the continued strife among himself, Derek, and Addison.

Mark’s focus remains on repairing his relationships with Addison and Derek. In an effort to stray from the sexual nature of their past attempts, Mark entered a sixty-day abstinence pact with Addison with the agreement that if at the end of two months’ time they had remained celibate, Addison would agree to give a relationship with Mark another chance. However thirty-two days into the pact, Mark witnessed Addison and Alex leaving an on-call room together, and realized what had happened between them. Hurt, he lied to Addison about breaking the pact. While he and Derek are still estranged, they have made some progress, especially after Mark’s support during Meredith’s drowning, and they were able to remain civil at work. Since Addison left, Mark and Derek have repaired their friendship.

Romantic Life
Mark is a self-confessed man-whore and dirty mistress, having numerous sexual encounters with the nurses of Seattle Grace, and Addison, even Nancy Shepherd.

When Mark returned to Seattle, it at Addison's drunken behest, an action she would later refer to as a "transcontinental booty-call." Addison rejected him yet again, but Mark was determined not to give up so easily, and after a quick trip back to New York to sublet his apartment and sell his practice, Mark took over the plastics program at Seattle Grace.

After the marriage George O'Malley and Callie Torres fell apart, Callie and Mark used each other for no strings attached sex, and continued to do so until recently.

After Addison leaves Seattle Grace, Sloan develops an unexpected crush on Dr. Erica Hahn, Burke's replacement as the head of cardiothoracic surgery. She proves to be quite different from the women he's used to dealing with. Eventually, Hahn admits that she is attracted to Sloan, however, she avoids a relationship with him because she believes it will affect her career.

Mark is currently having a relationship with Lexie Grey, despite Derek forbidding him to see her, summarised as "Little Sloan does not enter Little Grey."

Career
Mark attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed his residency in otolaryngology, a fellowship in plastic surgery, and quickly became one of the most highly-regarded plastic surgeons on the East Coast with a thriving private practice.

Professionally, Mark is regarded as a very successful and competent surgeon and one of New York's finest plastic surgeons. Alex Karev referred to him as the "go-to-guy" for plastics, and Richard Webber proposed that the addition of Mark to Seattle Grace's plastics program would double the revenue of other departments. He is skilled at delicate and complex reconstructive procedures, but also performs cosmetic procedures. Of his personal philosophy, he says: "People don't come to me to fix what's on the outside. They come to me to fix what's on the inside."

Mark was on the verge of terminating his contract with Seattle Grace and returning to New York, admitting he hates Seattle and the rain, when he learned of Richard Webber’s pending retirement. Mark entered the race for the chief position and set himself apart by not following the examples of the other candidates, and his unconventional strategy paid off following his board interview, when his “right-now” plan for the hospital was hailed by the board members and Chief Webber alike.

Although he failed to become chief, he remained at Seattle Grace Hospital.