Patrick Dempsey Terrorized The Set Of 'Grey's Anatomy', Was An 'HR' Nightmare Before Character Killed Off
McDreamy was apparently a nightmare to work with!
Patrick Dempsey’s shocking exit from Grey’s Anatomy devastated fans, but according to a new book, the actor needed to go.
The 55-year-old actor starred as the hunky doctor Derek Shepard on the first 11 seasons of the hit ABC medical drama. He was the love interest of Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey in the beloved series.
Following a rough start for the pair, they eventually wed and welcomed three children together: Zola, Bailey and Ellis. Dempsey’s character was killed off in a car crash during an episode in April 2015.
Executive Producer Lynette Rice is spilling the secrets to Dempsey’s ousting in her upcoming new book, How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy — set to hit bookstores on September 21.
Before the Enchanted star's surprising death in the series, he was the cause of behind-the-scenes tension that allegedly resulted in some “HR issues.”
“It wasn’t sexual in any way,” James D. Parriott says in an excerpt printed in The Hollywood Reporter. “He sort of was terrorizing the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him. He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people. The network and studio came down and we had sessions with them. I think he was just done with the show. He didn’t like the inconvenience of coming in every day and working.”
Parriott added that Dempsey and the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes were “at each other’s throats.”
After the 51-year-old mega-producer reportedly witnessed some of the actor’s abhorrent behavior and tired of hearing his castmates’ complaints about him, she knew he had to go.
“That was the final straw,” producer Jeannine Renshaw noted in the chapter. “Shonda had to say to the network, ‘If he doesn’t go, I go.’ Nobody wanted him to leave, because he was the show. He and Ellen [Pompeo]. Patrick is a sweetheart. It messes you up, this business.”
Over time, any ill will towards the actor must have eroded as Dempsey reprised his role as “McDreamy” in season 17, coming to Meredith several times during her COVID-induced dreams.
