Viewing Single Post From: McDreamy in Print

Viewing Single Post From: McDreamy in Print
oncetherewasaway	May 31 2007, 01:02 AM
McEditor Posts: 1,625 Group: .Grey Girls. Member #23 Joined: October 25, 2006	Bangor Daily News, October 15, 2005 Sexual healing; Maine native Dempsey enjoys career rebirth with sensual role on 'Grey's Anatomy' BYLINE: DALE MCGARRIGLE OF THE NEWS STAFF F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong. Patrick Dempsey has discovered there are second acts in American lives.Dempsey, who grew up in the western Maine towns of Turner and Buckfield, is enjoying a resurgent acting career, as part of the ensemble cast of the ABC breakout hit "Grey's Anatomy." "I certainly appreciate it more the second time around," he said. "I appreciate the joke of fame. I'm working on something that people like, and I'm extremely thankful." On "Grey's Anatomy," Dempsey, 39, plays Dr. Derek Shepherd, a neurosurgeon and attending physician at a Seattle hospital. Even before the opening credits rolled on the drama's first episode, Shepherd inadvertently had begun a relationship with Dr. Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo), a new intern at that institution. Dempsey has been one of the stand-outs in the ensemble's cast. TV Guide named him one of TV's sexiest men. In that article, Pompeo, a Boston native, wrote, "Dr. McDreamy, that's what I call Patrick's character. ... He's gorgeous, he's got a great body and he's got damn fine hair." Dempsey, who is married to makeup artist Jillian Fink and with whom he has a 3-year-old daughter, Tallulah, takes the sex-symbol talk with a grain of salt. "I don't take it too seriously," he said in a recent phone interview. "That's created by the writing staff and the media." With all the new hoopla, Dempsey hasn't gotten home to Maine much this year. (He owns a home in Harpswell, near Brunswick.) He came back for a couple of days this summer to cruise up the coast in a vintage sports car for a feature in Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The youngest of three children, Dempsey got his start in Maine as a teenager. He began as a juggler, learning from vaudevillians Benny and Denise Reehl. He moved into acting in 1983, performing with the Maine Acting Company then interning at The Theater at Monmouth. After winning the Maine preliminaries of the Talent America competition, he dropped out of school, moved to New York and began his acting career in earnest. Dempsey made his film debut in 1985's "Heaven Help Us." His other films from the late '80s include "Can't Buy Me Love," "In the Mood" and "Loverboy." Making the transition from teen to adult roles, Dempsey continued to work steadily through the '90s, but he began to get fewer film roles and more TV parts. Recurring roles on "Will & Grace" and "Once & Again (for which he earned an Emmy nomination), along with a co-starring role in the Reese Witherspoon film "Sweet Home Alabama," brought Dempsey back to the fore. Still he had to audition for the "Grey's Anatomy" role. "That led to a screen test with Ellen Pompeo, and we had perfect chemistry together," Dempsey recalled. Shonda Rhimes, creator of "Grey's Anatomy," knew she had the right man when she set eyes on Dempsey. "I was staring at him because he was perfect," she told TV Guide. "We saw plenty of cute guys, but it took a while to find the right balance of humor and sexiness where you could also believe that he could be a brain surgeon." So how did Dempsey evolve from a gawky teen to a craggily handsome adult? "Good, clean living," he joked. "I kept at it, kept going to the gym. It's been 20-some-odd years. It's a long haul, but it's all about not giving up." So what's happening with Derek this season? At the end of last season, it was revealed that he was married but that his wife had cheated on him."Now he's trying to decide whether to honor his marriage vows or to get a divorce and be with his true love, Meredith," Dempsey revealed. "Also, because of his affair with Meredith, his position at the hospital has been compromised." No one in the cast was prepared for the success of "Grey's Anatomy," which forced "Boston Legal" out of the cushy 10 p.m. Sunday timeslot behind "Desperate Housewives." "We had shot the entire first season before anything was aired," Dempsey explained. "It was a huge surprise that it took off and developed the way it has." Dempsey enjoys the security of a TV series. "You can relax and get into a rhythm," he said. "It's like going to a real job. I know I'm working until at least May." What lessons that he learned growing up in Maine have helped him in Hollywood? "There's a sense of accomplishment knowing that this isn't my life, that I can go home again when I want to," he said. "Also my parents' work ethic and attitudes have helped me tremendously. That practicality has certainly helped me." When "Grey's Anatomy" runs its course, Dempsey can foresee moving back to Maine, acting in theater and making films here. (The family also has a home in Texas, where his wife is from.) "I want to be in control of my own destiny, my own material," he said. "There's a couple of stories in Maine that I'd like to develop. It'd be nice to bring work to Maine." Chicago Sun Times, February 5, 2006 Playing doctor with hunky Patrick Dempsey: He may be McDreamy on 'Grey's Anatomy,' but he didn't quite make Sexiest Man Alive BYLINE: Doug Elfman, The Chicago Sun-Times PAGING DR. MCDREAMY Patrick Dempsey, who's been in the business more than 20 years, has never been more high profile than now since he has been on "Grey's Anatomy." Patrick Dempsey, the new George Clooney, ran into the real George Clooney at the Golden Globes. "You're handling things nicely. Keep it up," the original Clooney told him with "a twinkle in his eye," as Dempsey recalls the moment. "He's very gracious," Dempsey says. "He's a classy movie star. I'm lucky to be compared to him." On that comparison, Dempsey isn't speaking out of turn. In the past year, he's become known colloquially as "Dr. McDreamy," while playing Dr. Derek Shepherd on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." People magazine named him the second-sexiest man alive, citing his "lustrous" hair but not his scruffy, wounded demeanor in "Grey's." Oddest of all, a January survey of 2,000 people by the Harlequin Romance people suggested that Dempsey is one of four men who respondents would like to meet, along with the Dalai Lama, Hugh Hefner and Kanye West.It's a Clooney-like turnaround for his career. Like the former "ER" star, Dempsey started out as an actor in a sketchy search for good parts -- his credits include "Scream 3," "Meatballs III: Summer Job" and "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" -- only to find fame and sex-symbol status as a TV doctor after the graying of youth. "I've officially entered middle age," says Dempsey, who turned 40 last month. "Forty is the new 30." His good show is a runaway hit in its second season, so much so that ABC is airing a new episode after Sunday's Super Bowl, instead of "Desperate Housewives." Dempsey may be TV's biggest new star. He is without question the actor women ask me about the most. In interviews, Dempsey can be described the way he observes Clooney (gracious and classy), answering three obvious questions he must get asked all the time. 1. What does he think about being nicknamed "Dr. McDreamy"? "It's better than other nicknames," he says with a smile. "It's funny. I just really appreciate the opportunity to go to work, and it's opening doors for me." 2. What would his wife do if he told her he was in love with another woman -- which is what he did on "Grey's Anatomy"? "Under those circumstances? She'd slug me." 3. Why would his character return to his adulterous wife, when he's clearly in love with the lead character he dated and dumped, Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)? Dempsey claims he doesn't really know, but here's his best guess as to why the Shepherds remain together: "It's, like, even though the vows have been broken, he does feel he needs to at least commit to what he did on the altar and work through it so he can go on, and hopefully [end up] with Meredith." Dempsey and other cast members say series creator Shonda Rhimes (who grew up in Park Forest) is super secretive about the motivations and arcs of characters. But when Dempsey presses her, she works with him. "She has a very clear path of where she's taking these characters. She doesn't reveal to us what's going on, which makes it very difficult to inform your choice of how to play a scene. "But she's also very open when you need some help. So you can go into her office and say, 'I don't buy this, because I personally would not make this choice.' " Listening to Dempsey on this issue makes it seem like eavesdropping. "If [Dr. Shepherd] doesn't have a child with [his wife], why is he staying in the relationship? What is it about this relationship that he needs to invest in?" Dempsey asks. "That's slowly coming out." He's found an actor's solution to the dilemma of not knowing where his character is heading."I make four or five choices, and they can cut it anyway they want to," he says.Despite this challenge, Dempsey is exceedingly grateful for the role. He vows total loyalty."I will stay with the show as long as my contract is there," he says. "We'll see where the character's going, and if we're still having fun, [but] I have no intention of leaving the show. I will not bite the hand that feeds me." The appeal of "Grey's" isn't just Dempsey, who was nominated for best actor in a drama at this year's Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards. It's the ensemble cast of skilled actors filling fleshed out and quite different characters. Officially, it's a drama. At times, it's a melodrama. Though mostly, it seems comical. It can even come across like a female "Scrubs." "Scrubs" is a wacky hospital comedy with the stereotypically male humor of slapstick, while "Grey's" plays lightly around serious issues, using female sensibilities. Whereas "Scrubs" is narrated by a goofy good guy, "Grey's" is narrated by anxious everywoman Meredith, yearning always for meaning and love and comfort, and occasionally a one-night stand from a bar. Sandra Oh earned a best-actress SAG award and a best-supprting-actress Golden Globe by endearing herself as Meredith's friend Dr. Cristina Yang, who is resistantly in love with Dr. Preston Burke (played with perfect rigidity by Isaiah Washington). And T.R. Knight is a fan favorite as comically meek but courageous Dr. George O'Malley. Viewers may wonder why Dempsey's TV wife Dr. Addison Shepherd is still in the picture. But Kate Walsh has portrayed her with such delight and distraught tones, the show benefits from her presence, even if the couple's chemistry is nonexistent. More than most TV shows, "Grey's" does a better job of delving into the nitty-gritties of real life, from unrequited love to day-to-day struggles, albeit in TV's typical broad strokes of caricature portraits. The only thing that consistently reeks is the off-putting music score, which telescopes emotions with saccharine pizzicato. Great ratings have led to bigger movie roles for Dempsey. He's slated to film "Freedom Writers" with Hilary Swank, who plays a teacher of at-risk high school students. He and Susan Sarandon are lined up for the part-cartoon, part-live-a ction Disney musical "Enchanted." Hollywood is guessing Dr. McDreamy is now a visible, maybe more bankable star."I haven't changed in the last year, but people's perceptions of me have," he says. "I'm in people's houses every week. When I first started, television was taboo. You didn't do that. Now you have to have the visibility for people to get behind you." He's been picky with the rush of scripts that have come his way."I've turned down a lot this year," says Dempsey, the father of a young daughter. "I'm very hesitant to do things that are violent. As a parent, I don't want to go see that. I want to make sure that the stuff is interesting intellectually. I think the Hilary Swank piece has a lot to say about the education system in this country." Boxes of scripts were supposed to come his way a long time ago. Back in 1989, Dempsey was featured at the Academy Awards in a disastrous "Break-Out Super Stars of Tomorrow" musical number, along with Corey Feldman, Christian Slater, Ricki Lake, Rob Lowe and a dancing Snow White. But it wasn't until recently that Cosmopolitan named Dempsey its Fun Fearless Male of the Year, In Touch Weekly named him one of the "hottest hunks" on TV, and so on. He's not taking it for granted. "We're lucky to be working in an industry that's brutal. I've lasted a very long time, and I've worked extremely hard and fought through years of rejection to get to this point. And I'm just enjoying the ride, and I really like the cast a lot." He isn't even planning to vacation anytime soon. "I have 10 years of non-work," he says. "I'm ready to go to work." Ah, yes, but has he asked Matthew McConaughey, who beat him out for People's sexiest man title, to a dance-off? "No," he says, laughing. "That's cool, though." Chicago Sun Times July 25, 2006 Dream on, McDreamy: Torn between two TV lovers, Patrick Dempsey wants them both BYLINE: Doug Elfman, The Chicago Sun-Times Patrick Dempsey has an idea. Maybe, just maybe, his "Grey's Anatomy" character, Dr. Derek Shepherd, should slip into a menage a trois with his wife, Dr. Addison Shepherd, and his lover, Dr. Meredith Grey? "I think they should definitely get it on. A threesome would be interesting," he says and chuckles. Dempsey's notion doesn't surprise Kate Walsh, who plays Addison Shepherd. "Who knows what goes on in the mind of Dempsey?" Walsh says, amused. "He does say it often, actually. We'll be shooting our elevator scenes, and he'll say, 'Why can't we just all get in bed and work this out?' Typical male response: 'Come on, ladies, there's enough of me!' " Dempsey -- a k a "Dr. McDreamy," a k a "George Clooney: The Next Generation" -- sees another choice for McDreamy besides choosing between Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Addison. "I think he should just have some random girl that comes out of nowhere," he says, smiling. "You know, a candy striper or something." Dempsey is either kidding or wishful-thinking. He already knows "Grey's" will resolve the long-suffering love triangle -- a source of annoyance for many fans -- in the first three episodes of its third season. That's why Dempsey was relieved when last season's finale put McDreamy and Meredith back in the sack. "I was like, 'Finally! Thank God we're having sex!' " he says. "I think they should just go on a tear right now and have sex everywhere in the hospital. And then they get burned out and they have to talk to each other." Dempsey would also like for the male characters on the show, which has a large female following, to be manlier and not always wishy-washy, at the whim of other women or victims of sexual performance anxiety. "It's important that we don't allow them to be castrated," Dempsey says. He proposes a male-bonding date of sorts for Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), who's in a tempestuous relationship with Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). They could discuss "what dysfunctional relationships they're involved in, and why that is, and to make sure they do it in a way that keeps their masculinity." Show creator Shonda Rhimes won't give away story lines for the new season, but she promises the show won't shift tone or direction. " 'Grey's' is gonna stay 'Grey's,' " she says. "We're not veering off into any new crazy directions. Last season, we were able to go on so many different levels emotionally, comedically -- ups and down --and we're gonna do the same thing this season." Dempsey says the third season is vital, especially since "Grey's" is moving from Sundays to Thursdays on ABC and will compete against CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and NBC's "Deal or No Deal," both powerhouse hits. "Thank God for Tivo," he says. And even with the show garnering 11 Emmy nominations this year, no one in the cast has renegotiated a contract, he says. As successful as "Grey's" is, it's still too early to fight for bigger salaries. "I think it's more important that we keep the show running the way it is, and take care of the characters and the crew and the cast," he says. "And we need to make the transition to Thursday night, and see if we hold, and see if we're a real thing." PATRICK DEMPSEY ON ... How he keeps his face consistently scruffy: "I shave the night before." (Some days, he uses a beard trimmer.) How it feels to being in "hunkville" at age 40 after being much less famous: "It's better than being in the "alternative-ville.' I was there for many years, and I didn't like it." Female fans who run to him when he's in public with his wife, Jill Fink: "It's disrespectful of my wife. I get that people are enthusiastic and they like the show, but I ask them to be respectful to my family because that's what's made me what I am, not this other stuff." Using his TV doctor credentials in real life: "My daughter [Tallulah, 4] had fallen and hurt her chin. I was watching the doctor's technique, and I was like, 'You are not putting stitches on. You're gonna use the liquid Band-Aid instead. And that's what I want you to use. Now. Please.' I suddenly became Derek Shepherd in the emergency room. I was very authoritative. ... And people were listening." (The doctor didn't know who Dempsey was but obliged anyway.) Filming surgery scenes when the dialogue will be dubbed later: "A lot of the time, we don't have the medical terminology, so we just say, 'Medical, medical, bulls---, bulls---, your line.' And then we move on and have a great time. You can just say anything with a mask on." Fan reaction to McDreamy sleeping with Meredith in last season's finale: "You'll be surprised who [roots] for him to stay with the wife and who doesn't. Like, the mother of 10 says, 'Go with Meredith. Leave your wife.' And then the single woman's, like, 'Stay with the wife.' And the husbands are, like, 'Stay with the wife.' It's really interesting to see how it affects people."


McDreamy in Print · PATRICK DEMPSEY