The Real Life McDreamy 20 Little-Known Details About Patrick Dempsey
If you haven't hidden under a rock over the past couple of years, chances are you have heard of McDreamy. And we also believe he does not need an introduction ― because who hasn't dreamed of Dr. McDreamy?
Since Grey's Anatomy began in 2005, it is no lie that Ellen Pompeo's love interest made women around the world go gaga ― and got them instantly hooked. The actor who plays the doctor that has made women around the world go crazy because of his irresistible charm is Patrick Dempsey. Some people do not even religiously follow the show but sit on the couch to catch a glimpse of the man and his movie-star good looks.
However, we want to let you know that he is not just a pretty face, and there is way more to him than meets the eye. In addition to starring in Grey's Anatomy, there are numerous things that make him the man we all adore.
Here, we are going to let you in on all the little details that you probably don't know about Grey's Anatomy's Derek Shepherd. Promise us that your heart won't beat too fast, as Patrick Dempsey will certainly not be around to save you.
20 Dempsey Started Young
Before Dr. McDreamy stole our hearts on the show, he had the heart of another woman, when he was quite young, actually. At 21 years old, the Hollywood star exchanged vows with a woman who was a little over twice his age. He got hitched to a lucky woman named Rochelle "Rocky" Parker, who was 48 then. She was also Dempsey's manager and his mother's best friend, Kiss FM reports. Awkward much?
19 Dempsey Missed An Epic Role
If you're a fan of the cult-classic film Pretty in Pink, we're about to disappoint you. The A-lister that we all have eyes for was actually supposed to be our beloved Duckie in Pretty in Pink, ET Canada reports. What a shame, we would have loved to have seen him in the 1980s.
Sadly, the actor unsuccessfully auditioned and lost to Jon Cryer. Let us all take a minute to dry the tears from our eyes, because he would've without a doubt made the film more iconic. And Dempsey would have been our number one heartthrob then, too.
18 Dempsey Had Other Dreams Growing Up
Evidently, anything this hunk does could make us melt, but imagine your favourite fictional Doctor as a clown? I think many women would no longer have a phobia of clowns!
In an interview with Extra, the heartbreaker confessed that once upon a time, he wanted to be a clown. Yes, we would have attended the circus to catch a glimpse of McDreamy if he'd followed that dream. And this was no joke (pun intended): he was really serious about becoming a clown for life, and even applied to attend clown school, Fame10 reports. Luckily for us, he did not get accepted.
17 Café Dempsey
Seems like McDreamy really is dreamy after all; he is a handyman with many talents. Just when we thought he had us from hello in Grey's Anatomy, the little bits we did not know make us fall even more in love with him.
When it comes to his career, it seems Patrick is not satisfied with "just" being an actor. In 2013, Dempsey took another direction in his life ― no, not clowning around, but jumping into the coffee business. He became part owner of Tully's Coffee and the face behind it, however that project did not last too long. Within two months he stepped out because he sued his business partner, The Seattle Times reports.
16 Dempsey And His Learning Disability
Not many people know this about the A-lister. In 2006, while conversing with talk-show legend Barbara Walters, Dempsey revealed that he has been struggling with dyslexia throughout his life, WebMD reports. We could never tell that onscreen because he is so calm, but that is because he uses certain techniques to help him get by.
To make sure his acting is exceptional despite his dyslexia, he claimed in a Life magazine interview, "Because of acting, I had to learn to work through my reading issues. I had private coaching. If I couldn't read a line, I had someone tell it to me."
15 Dempsey Was Not A Fan Of School
Everyone always stresses how vital it is to have an education, especially in today's world. However, Dempsey is another celebrity that we get to add to the list of extremely successful high school dropouts. Sometimes, we just must follow our dreams, even if it means letting go of school. That is exactly what the dreamy actor did. The now-established actor decided to leave school behind in order to pursue bigger things, like acting.
Years later though, he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters from Bowdoin College in recognition of his efforts to support cancer treatment and research in his home state of Maine, the Bowdoin Daily Sun reports.
14 Imagine Getting Rescued By Dr. McDreamy IRL
He was a doctor for some time on Grey's Anatomy, and we truly believe his gig on the show helped him learn some of the tricks and tips of the trade.
Not going to lie, we wouldn't mind receiving CPR from Dr. McDreamy himself.
Well, in 2012, the Grey's Anatomy star saved a teen from a car crash. The teen, Weston Massett, crashed his car near Dempsey's Malibu home. Luckily for the teenager, Dempsey was home when the incident happened and came to his rescue. The hero used a fire extinguisher and a crowbar to pull the 17-year-old boy to safety after his car flipped over, People reports.
13 Dempsey Could Juggle Many Things
You, like us, may be super surprised by all that this man has to offer. Besides using his hands to be an exceptional fictional doctor, being on Grey's Anatomy was not the first time Dempsey showed off his skills.
Still a pupil at the time, in 1981 when Patrick was 15 years old, he competed at the International Juggler's Association convention, and won second place in the Juniors category, NNDP reports. Back then, he probably thought he found his niche in life, and we are fortunate that he came to his acting senses.
12 He Almost Wasn't McDreamy (Gasp!)
We bet you you did not know that Patrick Dempsey almost didn't lock down the role of Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy. We're trying to picture how our lives would be without him. We even feel a little iffy that Dempsey almost missed out on such a role ― how could that even be possible?
Well, lo and behold, Rob Lowe was offered the role of Derek Shepherd, and declined it, E Online reports. We are thanking our lucky stars for that ― sorry, not sorry. What would have this drama been without Dempsey's dreamy eyes?
11 You Could Catch Him On The Slopes
We feel like some ladies will want to pick up skiing after they read this one.
The man who stole the hearts of millions around the world grew up in Maine, where he often hit the mountains and did not initially dream of becoming an onscreen sensation.
As Star2 reports, Dempsey said,
"Growing up in a small town (Lewiston, Maine), it was quite by accident that I got into acting. It was never my intention. I always wanted to be an Olympic ski racer.
My hero was Ingemar Stenmark, possibly the greatest ski racer of all time, that's who I wanted to be."
10 He Feared The "Grey's" Producer
So, he landed the role of Dr. McDreamy, but it was not as easy as it seems! In fact, besides almost losing out to Rob Lowe for the role, he just about gave up when he met American television producer Shonda Rhimes.
After landing the role and winning her heart, Dempsey was not shy to open up about his feelings towards Rhimes before he got on the show ―he was terrified of her!
Dempsey stated in an interview with the Daily Mail, "At first I thought (show creator) Shonda Rhimes hated me, but she was calculating in her head where to put me and what I'd be right for."
9 Cars Are Worth All His Moolah
Boys will be boys, and we know many men love their cars. When the dreamy Dempsey with his flawless hair first started pursuing a career in acting and landed his first movie role, he did something quite outlandish.
The now-millionaire thought he was a major "boss" back when he got his first paycheck from his movie role and indulged on a 1963 Ferrari 356. How cool, right?
Maybe, but he must have had some kind of fever when he decided to spend his entire paycheck on the dream car. According to the actor, making the purchase was "… a symbol of making it."
As Fame10 reports, he said, "I bought it off the street for under ten grand - best thing I ever bought. I loved it because it was a symbol of making it. I didn't have any money but I had a cool car. It's such an iconic car and I drove it daily for 10 years."
8 Dempsey's Marriage Struggles
His first marriage to the woman who was 27 years his senior did not last, but Dempsey soon found his S.O.
In 1999, the one-of-a-kind actor married Jillian Fink (lucky woman, right?) The marriage was certainly a blessing, as the star and his wife had a precious daughter together, Talula, in 2002. He also had twins with his gorgeous flame, Sullivan Patrick and Darby Galen ― we're certain they're going to be as talented as their farther.
In 2015 though, the couple filed for divorce, but in 2016, Dempsey called it off. As he told People,
"Our marriage was not something I was prepared to let go of. I didn't feel like we had done all the work.
And we both wanted to do that work. That's where it started."
7 Dempsey As Another Doctor
Dempsey is a gracious and talented actor that anyone would want to have on their cast ― he is certainly an all-star. Before he became our go-to actor, basically, before he caught all our attention in Grey's Anatomy, he auditioned for the role of Dr. Robert Chase on the medical drama House. However, the producers chose to go with lesser-known actor, Jesse Spencer, ET Canada reports.
We guess somewhere in the stars it was written for Dempsey to play the role of a doctor.
6 Dempsey Was Once Demanding
Dempsey does certainly seem like the type of man that is down-to-earth and humble; we got to give him credit considering how many women go gaga for him. And, if you have not realized yet thus far, Dempsey is quite open during interviews.
In an interview with Barbara Walters, Dempsey was not shy to admit that he did act like he was on the top of the mountain when he began his career. Who knew that Dempsey had the diva flair in him? He admitted to her that early on in his career, he would have "temper tantrums." Yikes!
“You can't have temper tantrums,” he says, as Today reports. “You have to be professional and I don't think I understood that at the time.”
5 Dempsey The Romantic
Do you blame us if we would constantly vouch and cheer on for MerDer to be an actual item? Seriously, it still does not make sense to us that they are not a couple IRL ― and I have had to explain this to my mother and aunts on numerous occasions.
If you're an avid fan of the show, you will remember the tear-jerking moment between the fictional surgeon and Meredith very vividly. As dreamy and romantic as he is, the post-it marriage scene between the loving duo is a classic moment that we have frozen in our minds.
And, to make you gush even more, we wanted to let you know that we found out that Dempsey literally wrote down everything that was said between the two on he notepad.
“He could have been writing the Lord's Prayer for all we know as viewers. But he wasn't. He was writing the dialogue, and it was lovely," a Grey's Anatomy propmaster said, as reported by Buzzfeed.
4 It's Old Over New For Dempsey
Have we convinced you yet that our favourite (fictional) surgeon in the entire world is a multi-faceted man? If not, we're about to throw another alluring fact your way.
Dempsey, besides putting all his focus and attention on his acting, also has a love for antiques. Besides the Ferrari he bought with his first acting paycheck, Dempsey likes to use his hard-earned money to purchase a whole cluster of antiques. Inside his home, he's got lots of antique furnishings to create a cozy space, 1Stdibs states.
If you have any antiques to sell, you know where to go.
3 Dempsey Floors It
So, we mentioned earlier that he splurged on a Ferrari, which might've given you the hint that Patrick's slightly obsessed with cars. But, he doesn't just like buying them. He also races them. He's achieved quite a lot when it comes to racing. As Motorsport reports, he won the Fuji round of the 2015 World Endurance Championship. He also came second in class in the prestigious 24 Hours of Lemans endurance classic. Wow!
2 Derek Shepherd Who?
Ever wondered how the nickname "McDreamy" happened?
In 2006, Rhimes spoke to Oprah Winfrey about first shooting the pilot for the show and she revealed that they came up with the McDreamy name for Patrick even before his actual character name Derek Shepherd. Now how did that come about? According to the Oprah website, Rhimes said,
"When we were shooting the pilot, Patrick was seriously the most adorable man we'd ever seen on camera. We'd watch the monitor and think, 'Look at his dreamy eyes!'
So we started calling him Patrick McDreamy, and it stuck.”
1 Dempsey Was Not Always So Fly
You might just all laugh at this one, and find it completely absurd, but it came from the mouth of THE Dempsey himself.
According to the actor who has millions of women around the world swooning over him, he was not always the dreamy man we all know him as ― who is he trying to kid here?
"I played all these nerdy characters in my early career,” Patrick said. “I was always sort of that odd kid in school. So it's nice to have the attention."
He's definitely got it for life!
References: The Seattle Times, WebMD, TV Fanatic, Oprah, ET Canada
