Patrick Dempsey on the Roles He's Recognized for Most

Patrick Dempsey may no longer be waltzing through the halls of the famed Seattle Grace Hospital as Derek "McDreamy" Shepard, but he's keeping one foot in the medical space (in real life, this time). Dempsey is proud to operate The Dempsey Center, a nonprofit hospital in rural Maine with the goal improving wraparound cancer care - at no cost, no less.

Outside of his philanthropy, Dempsey is starring as Miami Metro Homicide Captain Aaron Spencer in Dexter: Original Sin. It's a role that his years on Grey's Anatomy seem to have prepared him well for. He's not even a little bit afraid of the fake blood they use on set.

Read on for our full interview to hear about Dempsey's latest project, Dexter: Original Sin, as well as his thoughts on some of his most famous prior roles like Sweet Home Alabama, Enchanted and Made of Honor.

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Kelsey Barberio/Parade: You worked on Grey's Anatomy for so many years. That's a pretty medical role. Did it kind of inspire you in any way to kind of dive into this more with the Dempsey Center?

Patrick Dempsey: You know what, it helped because people, sort of, they would project onto me that I was a doctor.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: I mean, you’re McDreamy!

Patrick Dempsey: Right. You know it was an archetype that people really embraced. And it's nice to be able to do something really positive with that. And we’ve reached so many people around the world. And certainly growing up in Maine and being in a rural community, you're so far away from a medical facility and you're so distracted with other things in life, or you're doing things that, it's a nice way that you're recognized enough that hopefully people will listen to you and you can use that in a positive way.

And certainly we're seeing a lot more people in the rural communities not getting the screenings, not having an opportunity to get into a hospital because they live so far away from a major facility. And a lot of the rural hospitals are closing. So I'm very proud to have been a part of that show and its longevity. And so many young people have gone into the medical profession and now have come out the other side and are actually practicing. That's always quite a treat to see when I go into the hospitals.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: The show is incredible. I've watched almost every single season. And when your character left, it was just devastating for us all.

Patrick Dempsey: Yes.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: Would you say that that is the role that you're most recognized for? Is there another one that people are like, "Oh!," every time they see you?

Patrick Dempsey: No, I think it depends on your generation. Like early on, Can't Buy Me Love was a big one, and you can always tell how old the person is by that and some other things and, you know, and now with Dexter and of course, we did Thanksgiving and Ferrari last year and I've been, since 2015, really focusing on the center and doing that and being home with the family and, and being around.

So, yes, the amazing power of television around the world. And then to be able to use that, to be able to talk about what we're doing with the [Pfizer] collaboration now, and with the center itself.

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Kelsey Barberio/Parade: You've had a pretty wide range of roles. Obviously, you know, McDreamy, that's its own world, but I did some polling around the office.

Patrick Dempsey: Oh, really?

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: And some of the most popular ones actually were a little bit surprising to me that people were excited about.

Patrick Dempsey: Oh?

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: One was Made of Honor.

Patrick Dempsey: Okay.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: Surprising.

Patrick Dempsey: Right. That was funny because Kevin McKidd was in that and then a year later ended up coming on to the show, still on the show. And he's one of the directors. And, I always love when the actors become directors. They’re the best ones to work with. So yeah, that was great. So that's interesting.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: And Enchanted was the other one that got the people really excited.

Patrick Dempsey: Yes.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: And you guys just did the sequel not too long ago.

Patrick Dempsey: Yes, we shot that in Ireland and Amy was amazing in that. And that was a very special, classic Disney film.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: And then the one scene that really sticks in my brain for you is the iconic scene from Sweet Home Alabama.

Patrick Dempsey: Tiffany's.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: Tiffany's!

Patrick Dempsey: Right, yes.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: So we were talking a little bit about the hair. You've got some longer hair than you usually do. You said you're in your 70s era because you're.

Patrick Dempsey: Right, well, I’m doing Dexter: The Original Sin and that's going to come out in December and I've got two more weeks on that shooting.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: But now that role seems a little bit different than some of the other ones that you've done. Like that's a little scary show?

Patrick Dempsey: Yeah, it's a great show. It's a great cast and I'm having a great time on it. And I worked with Christian 30 years ago on a movie called Monsters, and it's been really fun to reconnect with him and to work with him so many years later. Sarah Michelle Gellar is great to work with, and just the whole atmosphere and the culture has been really positive and really fun.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: That's awesome. It's a little bit of a freaky show. Is there anything that's freaky when you're on set? Do you ever get a little frightened?

Patrick Dempsey: No, not at all. I mean, we have a lot of fun. We laugh a lot. You know, it's very serious. The pace is nice and the culture is really wonderful.

Kelsey Barberio/Parade: The fake blood doesn't, you know, it doesn't get you?

Patrick Dempsey: No, because of Grey's, you know, in the medical thing. So it doesn't really bother me so much.

This transcript has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

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