| Sure he was a bit nerdy in the ‘80s, but that is
precisely why we think the man who plays Dr. McDreamy himself is even MORE intriguing
today. Patrick Dempsey’s portrayal of Dr. Derek Shepherd has earned
him a Screen Actors Guild Award and a People's Choice Award. In addition he has
garnered two Golden Globe nominations and received a 2006 Screen Actors Guild
nomination. Dempsey's movie career keeps him just as busy: He starred in
the romantic comedy Made of Honor, Disney's Enchanted (opposite twice-Oscar-nominated
Amy Adams) and the critically acclaimed Freedom Writers, alongside Oscar winner
Hilary Swank. Dempsey became well known as the unlikely heartthrob of such
classic '80s nostalgia films as Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy. Other films include
Sweet Home Alabama, Scream 3, With Honors, Outbreak, Hugo Pool, The Treat, The
Palace Thief, Heaven Help Us, Happy Together, Some Girls, Coupe De Ville, Run,
Mobsters and In the Mood. On television, Dempsey nabbed an Emmy nomination
in 2001 for his portrayal of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced
brother, in the critically acclaimed Once and Again. In 2003 he made a memorable
guest appearance on NBC's hit Will & Grace as Will's love interest, and in
2004 he co-starred in HBO's highly-acclaimed Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary
Swank and Anjelica Huston. Dempsey has also starred in the NBC movie based
on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, opposite Ben Kingsley; appeared
in the television miniseries 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Michael Caine;
co-starred with Oliver Reed in the biblical epic, Jeremiah, and could also be
seen in JFK: Reckless Youth, A Season in Purgatory, Blood Knot, The Right to Remain
Silent, Shallow Grave and Blonde. Dempsey was born and raised in Lewiston,
Maine. He first appeared on stage as David in the San Francisco production of
Torch Song Trilogy. Other early stage work included On Golden Pond for the Maine
Acting Company, the international touring production of Brighton Beach Memoirs,
directed by Gene Saks, and The Subject Was Roses at the Roundabout Theatre in
New York. He also took the stage in The Pasadena Playhouse run of The Importance
of Being Earnest as Algernon Moncrieff. - description by ABC.com |
