Patrick Dempsey

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Patrick Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine on January 13th, 1966. He made his theatre debut with the Maine Acting Company in On Golden Pond and later won roles in Torch Song Trilogy and Brighton Beach Memoirs.

Dempsey made his feature film debut in 1985’s Heaven Help Us. He was then cast in Fast Times, the TV version of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, where he played Mike Damone the scalper. He also appeared in Meatballs III: Summer Job, but it was his next film, 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love that gained him attention. He also gained attention that year for marrying Rocky Parker. He was 21, she was 48.

Dempsey went on to star in a string of movies like In the Mood, In a Shallow Grave, Some Girls (with Jennifer Connelly), Loverboy, Happy Together, and Coupe de Ville.

In 1991, Patrick starred in Run with Kelly Preston and played Meyer Lanskey in Mobsters opposite Costas Mandylor and Christina Slater. He played a young JFK in the 1993 TV movie J.F.K.: Reckless Youth and made his directorial debut with Ava’s Magical Adventure in 1994. That same year, he divorced Parker and also work with Joe Pesci and Brendan Fraser on With Honors.

In 1995, Dempsey starred in Bloodknot and worked with Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr and Donald Sutherland on Outbreak. The next year, he starred in the TV movie A Season in Purgatory which was based on Dominick Dunne’s bestseller that mirrored the Michael Skakel story. In 1997, he joined a cast that featured Michael Caine, Mia Sara and Bryan Brown for the TV movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He then appeared in the Robert Downey Jr. Hugo Pool, which also starred Alyssa Milano, Malcolm McDowell and Sean Penn.
He also worked opposite Ben Kingsley and Julie Delpy in the 1998 TV movie of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Patrick married makeup artist Jill Fink in 1999.

Dempsey started off the 2000’s playing Detective Mark Kincaid in Scream 3, which also starred Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. He then landed recurring roles on both Will & Grace and Once and Again.

In 2001, he played opposite Poppy Montgomery’s Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. In 2002, he appeared in The Emperor’s Club with Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch and then starred opposite Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama.

More TV appearances followed, including 2004’s Iron Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. That same year he also had a recurring role on The Practice.

In 2005, Dempsey rocketed to fame again when he landed the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd, a.k.a. Dr. McDreamy, on the TV series Grey’s Anatomy. He played the love interest of Ellen Pompeo’s character in the show which also features Sandra Oh and Katherine Heigl. The shows popularity helped launch him into a string of features. In 2007, he reteamed with Hilary Swank for Freedom Writers and played opposite Amy Adams in Enchanted before starring with Michelle Monaghan in 2008’s Made of Honor.

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