In addition to hitting on interns and saving lives in his role as Dr. Mark Sloan, a.k.a., McSteamy on Grey's Anatomy, Eric Dane has another job these days: starting a family.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show set to air Wednesday, the actor, 36, admitted he and his wife of four years, Rebecca Gayheart, also 36, want children.

"We’re currently working on that," he said.

But the process hasn't been simple.

"It’s funny because you get the doctors involved and they call you and it's like, in eight days I will have to put in some work," Eric Dane explained. Then, he said, for four days, "I will be very busy and I probably shouldn’t schedule anything else."

DeGeneres suggested that four days of sex sounded like "tough work."

"Hard work," he agreed, "great if you can get it though."

The actor also addressed recent rumors that his co-stars Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight will be leaving the ABC series during or after the current fifth season.

"I worked with them this morning and they were both very present," he said, noting that only Grey's Anatomy's creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes, could comment with any credibility or authority on the actors' futures.

"Until the boss says this is going down, it’s not happening."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.