A
rising star in the eighties thanks to films like Can’t Buy Me Love, Patrick
Dempsey’s career grew cobwebs in the nineties.
Patrick Dempsey (AP
Photo)
But not the ones to give up easily, the actor made a spectacular comeback in the
television juggernaut Grey’s Anatomy in which he plays Dr Derek Shepherd. His
popularity reached such heights that nabbing Dempsey for Enchanted in one of his
brief hiatuses from the hit drama was something of a coup according to director
Kevin Lima, who also revealed that filming in New York was frequently
interrupted by Dempsey’s ardent fans.
A romantic comedy, Enchanted tells the story of Giselle (Amy Adams), a
fairy-tale princess who is thrown down a wishing well by her evil stepmother
Narissa (Susan Sarandon) and when she emerges in present day New York.
There she meets Dempsey who’s a cynical New York divorce attorney. And inspite
of their differences they fall in love. Here Dempsey talks about the ups and
downs of his professional journey and what appealed to him the most in Enchanted
In
Enchanted, you play a lawyer, while Giselle is a fairy tale princess in search
of true love...
It’s worse than that. My character is a divorce lawyer and he’s a very
cynical guy. He’s also a single man, who is raising a child on his own. So the
prospects don’t seem very good for love to happen, but he sort of takes her
under his wing when he finds her adrift in NY and they end up falling in love.
What about the movie appealed to you?
The fact that it’s fresh and different. Also it’s almost like three
different movies in one. There’s the romantic comedy aspect of it, then
there’s the musical stuff, the animation and some big action elements,
including a dragon on the loose. Actually, I guess that’s four elements
(laughs).
The phrase ‘romantic comedy’ strikes fear
into the hearts of red-blooded men...
I think it will sort of turn the romantic comedy and musical genres on their
head. In fact, guys who have seen it at test screenings came up to me afterwards
and told me how much they like it, sort of contrary to their expectations.
You have a young daughter. Is she excited that
Daddy’s in a film with a princess?
Oh, she’s very excited! She’s five-years-old and she would come down to the
set all the time. She’s still talking about it and she always refers to Amy as
“the princess”. Now, every night when I get home, she makes me do the dances
numbers with her.
There are some very elaborate songs and dance
numbers in Enchanted. How was that for you?
I should clarify that I don’t do any singing in the film, which is just as
well because you wouldn’t want to hear it! Amy’s character, Giselle, breaks
into song at the drop of a hat, but my character’s a New Yorker so he thinks
she’s insane and embarrassing. But I do dance and that was my favourite part
of making the movie, working on the dance sequence with this great
choreographer, who’d also worked on films like Moulin Rouge.
Grey’s Anatomy is a big hit around the world.
Does success on television translate to films?
Well, my options are certainly better than they were a couple of years ago
(laughs) and yes, when you’re in a hit show, you get a chance to go and do a
couple of movies.
After that, it depends if people go and see them and they make money as to
whether you get more chances. So, I have Enchanted and I’m also doing Made of
Honor, which is also a romantic comedy. After that, I think my next choice is
crucial.
And given the way my career has gone, you realise how quickly it can go away.
You can be very successful one year and the next year you do a couple of duds
and you’re done, people forget about you and someone else comes along. Knowing
that kind of keeps you grounded.
Do you have a different attitude to success the
second time around?
Yes, you look at it seriously, at the business options, the creative options.
It’s also a grind and I haven’t stopped working in three years because I
know this is a window of opportunity and I have to make smart choices. Also, I
don’t want to take the opportunities for granted. You may come on the set and
be exhausted, but you want to stay focused and do the best you can and
appreciate what you have. I think losing that sense of appreciation is what gets
you into trouble and it’s when you make the mistakes. I’m really grateful
for the success I am having right now.
According to the magazines, you’re still one
of the sexiest men alive...
(Laughs) It’s amazing to me that anyone would think that. Anyway, someone just
told me that a French magazine listed me at number 13 on the sexy list, so
I’ve decided I’d better start working on my ranking and see if I can make it
into the top ten.
,
In
Enchanted, you play a lawyer, while Giselle is a fairy tale princess in search
of true love...