He might be at the height of his professional powers as a star of Grey’s Anatomy, but Patrick Dempsey is contemplating life beyond Dr Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.
In a mid-morning interview on the Los Angeles set of Grey’s, a relaxed Dempsey imagines a time when he will have had enough of the production demands of the medical drama and he’ll be far from image-obsessed Hollywood, living with his wife and three kids.
His feelings have been shaped by his wife, Jill, giving birth in February to twin boys, Sullivan and Darby. He also has a five-year-old daughter, Talula.
“It’s (the arrival of twins) daunting and overwhelming. I think it’s going to be really fun,” Dempsey says.
“Eventually, at the end of this run of Grey’s, it will be nice to retreat to the country and raise them in an environment that is much better than Los Angeles.
“I love family. I think it’s the one thing that keeps me sane in all the craziness of what’s going on with this show.”
Dempsey, who works up to 16 hours a day on Grey’s, says it’s nearly impossible to find an escape from the hype generated by the global success of the show.
Though he credits Grey’s with resurrecting his career, he has found it a challenge dealing with intense media scrutiny, particularly about cast unrest on the show.
Ellen Pompeo wants everybody to know that she does not have an eating disorder. And she blames the media for propagating those rumors.
“I just worry about the girls who look up to me,” the Grey’s Anatomy star, 37, says in the new issue of Los Angeles Confidential Magazine. “I don’t want them to think I starve myself or don’t eat, and that to be like me that’s what they have to do.”
Pompeo, who says she’s just naturally trim, says that false media reports are “irresponsible” and damaging to younger generations.
“What are we doing to this younger generation?” she asks in the interview. “We’re so focused on the wrong things. We’re teaching young girls that this is what they should be focusing on: rich and famous girls who are rich and famous for nothing.”
Apparently referring to celebutantes like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, the actress also says she feels journalists have a responsibility to shift their focus. “I just think the media should take this country in a different direction,” she says.
As for her personal life, well, Pompeo raves about her engagement to record producer Chris Ivery. “I swear we’re going to get married at sometime,” she tells Los Angeles Confidential. “We’re just trying to fit it all in. It won’t be a big ceremony – we want one thing to ourselves.”
And she echoed those feelings to PEOPLE earlier in the year, explaining that her wedding most likely will occur outside of Los Angeles. Said Pompeo: “We were thinking about going away and getting married.”
Isaiah Washington blamed costar Patrick Dempsey’s repeated tardiness to the Grey’s Anatomy set for the blow-up that resulted in Washington using a homophobic slur.
Interviewed on Larry King Live, Washington said he regretted not confronting Dempsey the first time he was late, so he challenged him the second time. But Dempsey wanted to delay the scene more to wait for Grey’s star Ellen Pompeo, who plays Dempsey’s love interest, before shooting began.
“I said I don’t need Ellen, I can act,” Washington told King. “And that was the moment that sent it into a different zone.”
According to Washington, Dempey erupted. “He became unhinged, sprayed spittle in my face,” said Washington, in his first television interview about the controversy. “I’m asking him why is he screaming at me. … He just becomes irate.”
That’s when Washington said “a lot of things I’m not really proud of.”
“I said several bad words,” he recalled, quoting himself as telling Dempsey: “There’s no way you’re going to treat me like the B-word, the P-word or the F-word.”
He said that the “F-word” was not meant as an anti-gay slur, but implied “somebody who is being weak.” Washington also strongly denied he ever directed the word at gay costar T.R. Knight.
“It just works because she’ll be in the middle of a holiday break for her show, and she’ll still have enough time after for a short honeymoon!†But the timing isn’t all about fitting in the wedding with her work schedule — Katherine wanted to tie the knot in the midst of the winter holiday season!
“Everyone is already so full of cheer just before Christmas,†the insider says. “So to throw in a wedding at that time — she just loved the idea!
“Her idea is to get married under this snow covered tent at her property with Josh in rural Utah,†adds the insider. “She wants glamour, so the dress is upscale. But she also wanted everything to feel down-to-earth, natural and beautiful.â€
Katherine, 29, and Josh, 27, met in 2005 when she appeared in the video for his song “Only You.â€
After Isaiah Washington broke his silence over his controversial exit on Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes, creator and one of the executive producers of the series, has finally said her piece to Access Hollywood on Thursday, June 14, 2007.
“I feel like we wrote the show in a way that really completes the story of [Washington's character] Burke, and that is a really strong thing,†she has revealed.
Washington’s character, Preston Burke, who left Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh, at the altar during the season three finale on May 17, will not be recast with a new actor according to Rhimes.
“I’ve said it before, I and I will say it again. I don’t believe in replacing one actor with another. I think [a replacement is] a little bit odd in terms of somebody who has been on the show for three years,†Rhimes has explained.
Despite all the controversy that has surfaced the media, Rhimes has told Access Hollywood that she still perceived the past year as something positive. “We won the Golden Globe this year. I think the show took itself to new heights this year. I think we explored different things for women this year. I think we have had amazing guest casts this year. I think it’s been a sweet, sweet year for us,†Rhimes has added.
Peaches Uniforms, together with film and TV star Katherine Heigl, launched a new line of health care uniforms that is poised to debut in retail stores this coming Fall.
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Innovative styling, edgy silhouettes, fun colors and fashionable prints are at the heart of KH. The designs are fit for the established professional nurse that wants her work wardrobe to reflect her personal style without compromising integrity. KH expresses savvy style and expert status.
Peaches has taken a strong market stance with The Katherine Heigl Collection. They have partnered up with top design firms in order to ensure that every facet of the product from branding and point of sale interest to design, fabrics and silhouettes reflect the elite nature of the Katherine Heigl Collection brand. No detail has been left to chance! Delivery will begin late Fall 07.
The former Dr. Preston Burke on ABC’s hit series Grey’s Anatomy told the Houston Chronicle that T.R. Knight should have been fired from the show.
Washington was let go on June 7, just a month before filming for the new season was to begin. He has been slammed with negative publicity since October. That’s when he allegedly used an anti-gay slur during an on-set disagreement with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
The Houston native’s interviews with the media since then have been limited.
“I have to clear my name,” a determined Washington told the Houston Chronicle in a telephone interview from the set of his new movie, The Least of These. “I’ll start from the beginning. I’m telling everything. So here’s the truth.”
Washington said Knight, who plays Dr. George O’Malley, stirred up the notion that the slur was targeted at him and created a negative work environment. Washington also alleged that Knight likely wanted a salary increase and a more substantive role for his character.
Knight, who acknowledged that he was gay after the incident, told Ellen DeGeneres in January that Washington used the slur against him and that “everyone (on the set) heard it.”
He might be at the height of his professional powers as a star of Grey’s Anatomy, but Patrick Dempsey is contemplating life beyond Dr Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.
