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Patrick Dempsey Press Conference
Did you have a favorite Disney movie growing up?
“Not really, no. I didn’t. I mean, I like them all. They’re all different types of movies. Of course now with kids, you see them all 19 times. We just finally broke out of Peter Pan and we’re moving on now.”
To what?
“Enchanted - the website. She was like, ‘Can I go to the website and play with the games?’ And, ‘When’s the princess coming over?’ and ‘Is the chipmunk at the junket?’ So that’s really cute and it’s fun.’
Are you a no-nonsense guy or a romantic at heart?
“A little bit of both, I think, depends on the mood. Defining romance is very tricky, because I think there’s a lot that kind of goes into romance. It’s not just necessarily candles and flowers.”
Are you surprised the TV show reignited your career?
“Oh absolutely, it’s unbelievable. It’s really unbelievable.”
Why do you think that show’s got such a following?
“I think there are a lot of different archetypes that people can identify with. I think it’s sort of the young men and women in the work place who have identified with the interns, initially. I think it came at the right time when Sex and the City was phasing out, Friends was phasing out, and it came in and filled that void at that time. I think the ensemble, the music all add to it. There’s something compelling about the characters that people really identify with.”
What’s the mood on the set this year?
“Much better. I think now basically people are really wanting the storylines to more forward a little faster than they are. I think Shonda [Rhime’s] really trying to – finding her way balancing out the two shows. Really, we find her to be much more receptive this season, certainly in the middle part of the season where she’s looking for more feedback and collaboration from people than she had in the past.”
Do you think the TV audience wants you and Grey to get together?
“I think they do, certainly. But I think we’ve become really stagnant in the relationship. I’m tired of going back and forth and playing the same bead over and over, and I think that’s been the biggest conversation we’ve had. It’s like we need to move forward with the dynamic between the two of them. And also I’d just like to see something else happen.”
Do you have a timeline for Grey? Is there a point at which you would say I think I’ve done as much as I can do with this now and it’s time to move on?
“Yeah, I think I’ll follow out my contract and then we’ll have to reassess at that point. I think if the character keeps growing and is challenging, then it’s fun. It’s nice having a job to go to every day. I’ve never had that luxury before and that’s kind of enjoyable. I just want the character to be challenging and if it starts to become just the same old, same old, I don’t know if I would want to - other than just making the paycheck at that point and securing a future for my family and getting the hell out of town.”
Is it a challenge to find things that really interest you during the limited time you have off?
“Yeah, I think so. Right now I really don’t want to do anything violent. I think we have too much violence in the world, and it’s really important to do movies that are light. You have to really kind of think of it as like during the war or during the Depression era, movies we need to have those screwball comedies come back that are smart, that are fun, that are good spirited, that weren’t so negative so that people can – because I want to go and escape for two hours or an hour and a half. I don’t want to come home and have to deal with the news and all of that stuff. It’s just so bleak that, for me personally, I want to just kind of check it for an hour and a half.”
How do you like being the father of twins? Has that been kind of a surprising experience?
“I got home to projectile vomiting last night, so it was like, ‘Wow, back to reality.’ You have a day it’s like you’re like this, this and this, and then all of a sudden you’re like projectile vomiting and everything smells like vomit. So, if you have kids you understand. I really love it. I think it keeps surprising me, and really I start to enjoy it more and more.”
Is it more challenging than you thought or easier than you thought?
“It’s different. It’s easier and more challenging because there’s three kids that you have to kind of – you develop an individual relationship with all of them, so that you have to have time with each one separately. And getting the time to do that… At the same time there’s something really comforting in a house full of people and kids. It surprises me because I usually like being alone, but I’m really loving it.”
Page 3: Made of Honor and Success
