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| Some news: Quote: Dempsey struggled to overcome dyslexia
Hollywood heartthrob Patrick Dempsey almost quit acting before he landed his comeback role in hit TV series Grey's Anatomy - because he was fed up with losing parts as a result of his dyslexia.
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The actor made a name for himself in the 1980s starring in movies like Loverboy and Can't Buy Me Love, but his career faltered in the 1990s and he found himself constantly looking for his next big role.
But, despite attending numerous auditions, he kept losing out to his contemporaries because his disability left him struggling to easily read scripts.
And the 42-year-old had just given up trying to build a career in Hollywood when he landed the part of surgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in medical drama Grey's Anatomy.
He says, "Because of my dyslexia I had to memorise all the dialogue for auditions. If I forgot it, I would then have to get over my frustration. If you constantly don't get the part it's very frustrating." Dempsey struggled to overcome dyslexia - Yahoo! News UK | Quote: Patrick Dempsey: You can go home again (maybe)
There are things which common wisdom says you can and can't do in Hollywood.
As of last week, it appears that Patrick Dempsey may be doing one of those things you can't do.
And aside from the natural joy generated whenever anyone does something they supposedly can't do, Dempsey's success may show that the decades-old unwritten and thoroughly arbitrary laws of TV and movie stardom are eroding.
Dempsey, you see, is a one-time young film star who saw his luster fade. He then resurfaced on a hit TV show, "Grey's Anatomy," which in turn made him a bigger celebrity than he ever was in film.
This is not all that rare. Kiefer Sutherland ("24") had the same kind of career revival. So did Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men").
What's rare is that Dempsey seems to be having some success when it comes to returning to movies.
His romantic comedy "Made of Honor" scored a respectable $14 million last week, making it the No. 2 box office movie. His prior film role to that was as the male romantic lead in "Enchanted," the fairy tale that earned $340 million worldwide following its debut in November.
True, Amy Adams was the driving force behind "Enchanted," and $14 million is nobody's idea of a blockbuster.
Still, film actors who've "fallen" to TV aren't supposed to be able to go back again. Yet, Dempsey appears to be doing just that.
Obviously it's about time. The list of television actors who've gone on to distinguished film careers ranges from Clint Eastwood to Meg Ryan to George Clooney, Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Michael Douglas and Billy Bob Thornton.
Want more? Tim Allen, Jessica Biel, Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell ... the list goes on.
And recently, more bonafide film actors have made the transition to TV, most notably Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace") and Glenn Close ("Damages," "The Shield").
Still, how many film actors have moved to the tube and then back to the top of the box office charts? If there are any examples, they're rare.
Maybe Dempsey's success marks the beginning of a new era in which talent flows easily between the mediums.
Or maybe it just says this guy's so good looking he can do anything he wants.
Either way, it opens up possibilities. And possibilities are often worth opening up. Patrick Dempsey: You can go home again (maybe) | Quote: Dempsey savors his return to leading man
In his latest roles, he's the guy who gets the girl
In romantic comedies, a clear Hollywood hierarchy is at work.
There's the guy who gets the girl. And there's the other guy, the one she abandons, often at the altar, for Mr. Right.
Patrick Dempsey has been on both ends of that pecking order. Long before he became "Grey's Anatomy's" "Dr. McDreamy," he was the dreamboat, junior edition, that assorted starlets floated off into the sunset with in movies such as "Can't Buy Me Love" and the like.
And then all that went away.
"You stop getting the opportunities," says Dempsey, 42. "You haven't lost your skills. You just aren't `hot' any more."
Dempsey had to make the transition from leading man to playing a cop in "Scream 3," from being top-billed in movies to "guest star" status on sitcoms. He might get a romantic comedy like "Sweet Home Alabama," which became a big hit for Reese Witherspoon in 2002. But don't look for Dempsey's character with the leading lady at the finale.
"There's nothing harder in this business than getting somebody to believe in you. I had to work very hard just to get into `Sweet Home Alabama.' It was a struggle just to find work."
But then lightning struck Patrick Dempsey for the second time. He had arrived, out of the blue, a high school dropout from Maine with a few theater credits and small roles in small films when "In the Mood" and "Can't Buy Me Love" brought him fame back in 1987. In 2005, it happened again with the TV show. Veteran Dallas TV critic Ed Bark (Unclebarky.com) compares Dempsey's "Grey's" fame to Don Johnson's "Miami Vice" stardom.
"It's mainly the luck of landing just the right role, and then knowing what to do with it," Bark says.
Next thing you know, the guy has no worries. Disney casts him in "Enchanted." There's a writer's strike? No problem. He can do Versace fashion shoots.
Suddenly, Dempsey's place in the hierarchy has changed. He can get the girl, again. His first star vehicle since "Grey's" took off is "Made of Honor," in which he plays the womanizing best friend of a prospective bride (Michelle Monaghan), a woman he suddenly realizes could be the one who gets away.
For "Honor," which opened in theaters this weekend, Dempsey got his pick of leading ladies, and a film whose shoot was tailored to fit his TV show's hiatus. What he hadn't counted on was the flashbacks.
"I'm sitting in the theater, watching the movie for the first time, and for the first couple of scenes, I'm going, `Oh noo. I don't want to go back there,'" he says, laughing. "I couldn't even watch the first part (college). It's painful.
"This movie is sooo much like the sorts of movies I really got my start in -- `Can't Buy Me Love,' `Loverboy' -- me as kind of a ladies' man, right?"
He can laugh, now. But he remembers those years off the culture's radar. Dempsey's just glad he put those to good use. He married his second wife in 1999 and has three children with her. When his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, he set up a cancer center back in his home state of Maine. And in between acting gigs, Dempsey found time to indulge in his other passion -- auto racing. He and his team, Vision Racing, competed in the Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona earlier this year. They finished second in last year's Koni Challenge racing series.
All this attention is "sweeter" this time around, Dempsey says. He's old enough to appreciate that "sex symbol" labels are hard to come by, and don't last.
"You can't live up to that hype. It's a projection. It's all smoke and mirrors. You just kind of enjoy the ride." Charlotte Observer | 05/07/2008 | Dempsey savors his return to leading man | |