2023-12-23 19:33:07
– Patrick Dempsey at full speed
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star plays an important, if secondary, role in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.” We were able to meet the actor during the Venice Film Festival.
Published: 12/23/2023, 8:33 p.m.
In November, Patrick Dempsey was named the sexiest man on the planet by the American magazine “People”.
EPA
In November, he was named the sexiest man on the planet by the American magazine People. A title that surprised him while stroking his ego. A few months earlier, we had met Patrick Dempsey, who had absolutely no idea that such an award might come his way. It was in August. And the American actors were on strike. With the corollary of a ban on any travel to promote their films, in Europe as in most festivals.
Locarno suffered from this, as did the Venice Film Festival. However, certain actors had obtained exemptions. Some film productions, to be quite exact. For example, for “Ferrari” by Michael Mann, a heavyweight in the Venetian competition, the actors had the right for two or three days to walk the red carpet of the official screening and then promote the film.
A few rare individual interviews were even possible. This was the case for us with Patrick Dempsey. Star of the series “Grey’s Anatomy” (19 seasons, including 11 in the main role of Doctor Shepherd), and very active actor in the cinema since the mid-80s, he plays a supporting role in “Ferrari”, playing Piero Taruffi, famous Formula 1 champion, now deceased, and rival of Enzo Ferrari, whose company, at the end of the 1950s, was going through a serious crisis. This biopic in the tradition of the genre centers on an episode in Ferrari’s career, without covering all the episodes of a life that one might assume was rich and complete.
Filming car races, for Michael Mann, amounts to transposing the codes of the thriller into an offbeat context. His film absolutely does not suffer from these obligatory passages and lets itself be carried away by a narrative flow where the characters dominate the plot. The day following the film screening, we found Patrick Dempsey in a hotel located on a small island accessible by boat in fifteen minutes (read box below).
What interested you in “Ferrari”?
Already my passion for sport. Formula 1 remains my favorite. And then the book from which the screenplay is taken, “Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine”, published in 1991, I read it fifteen years ago. Afterwards, the fact that all of this was filmed by a master of cinema like Michael Mann was the icing on the cake. His script was already great. He understood the sense of sacrifice that my character entails.
But how did you get on the film?
I auditioned for Michael Mann. But a very long time ago. For “Heat”, unless I’m mistaken.
Would you have preferred to have had the role of Adam Driver, who is more important?
No, because there is a question of physics and you have to be objective. Adam has the figure and the energy. Plus a kind of humanity that is unique to him and that he brings to the role. He knows how to go beyond the car driver mask he puts on in the film. He’s a magnificent actor.
How does Michael Mann behave on set?
He is demanding and tenacious. He is both direct and very clear-cut but fortunately has a lot of patience. He likes to shoot without nets. And repeats the take over and over once more if he deems it necessary, until he gets exactly what he wants. His attention to detail is pretty crazy.
What was the most difficult?
The wait, like on most shoots. There were hours of waiting on “Ferrari”. Michael Mann keeps making changes. For him, there is always time. He talks a lot to the actors. But also to the technicians.
Are you a patient person?
Not really. But I’m working on my lack of patience, in fact. If I’m told that shooting will start at 9 a.m. and that’s not the case, I might see red. I have also known directors who didn’t know what to do. This can drive me crazy.
You yourself practice Formula 1. How do you reconcile this sport and filming?
With an agenda, like everyone else. As long as I can do both, I’ll keep going.
You are perhaps best known for your roles on television, in series or TV films. But what is the difference between cinema and TV?
The framework. So the framing. On television, we focus first on dialogue. Image takes precedence in cinema. And at the same time, I think we can’t compare the two at all. Finally, there is also an undeniable fact, it is that television gives more exposure.
With the role of Dr. Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy,” you weren’t worried regarding being typecast?
I’ve been stereotyped, it’s true. But less in Europe than in the United States.
How do you cope with being a star?
I’m super happy and have been waiting for this for years. Don’t worry, I’m joking. In reality, I am not aware of this at all. What does this really bring? I do not know. That night there was a movie party and hundreds of people wanted to go inside. In these cases, we go before them. That’s all it’s for, being a star.
You were authorized to come and defend “Ferrari” in Venice (editor’s note: interview carried out last August, we remind you). Do you feel privileged?
No, but since most of my American colleagues are away, it feels a bit strange.
Don’t think that a meeting of this caliber can be achieved in the blink of an eye. For “Ferrari,” which premiered at the end of August at the Venice Film Festival, we were first offered the director, Michael Mann, in a group of around ten journalists. Not very exciting in terms of conditions. At the same time, we were told that a “one on one”, that is to say an individual interview, would be possible with Patrick Dempsey. It seems big but we accept without really believing it. What followed consisted of long email exchanges between the Swiss distributor of the film and the latter’s representative at the festivals. We will know nothing regarding these exchanges. But these end with a proposal for a meeting. This will involve going to the Excelsior Hotel (Lido of Venice palace) at a given time and boarding a shuttle that will take us to an island regarding fifteen minutes away.
But on the day itself, everything gets complicated. A junket (group interview) with Luc Besson is delayed. Problem, it is thirty minutes from the Excelsior. We manage to take a bus, but it is blocked by a car on the road. After crossing three security gates, we finally arrive at the meeting place. But the deadline has largely passed. Fortunately, an email alerts us that there is also a delay on their side. Phew! All that remains is to find the shuttle. And there, no one seems to know. A multitude of models invades the entire landing stage and we no longer know how to find the press contact in the middle, who remains unreachable. As for the concierge, he doesn’t know anything. That’s when we hear our name called in the crowd. It’s finally good. We board a large skiff heading for the island where the meeting will take place. The rest is classic. We see Adam Driver at another table and Patrick Dempsey arrives. The timer starts. Fifteen minutes, not one more, reminds the press officer. Then the skiff takes us back to the starting point. The models who were at the Excelsior have all disappeared.
1966 He was born on January 13 in Lewiston, Maine.
1985 He made his first appearance in a film, “Tutti frutti” by Michael Dinner. At the time, he intended to favor cinema.
1993After dozens of small roles in films, he played in a notable TV movie, “JFK: Destiny on the Move”, which was released as a miniseries. But the feature films that followed hardly made an impression.
2000We find him in “Scream 3” by Wes Craven, in which he plays one of the investigators.
2005This was the year he was hired to play the emblematic role of Dr. Shepherd in the series “Grey’s Anatomy”, which would considerably revive a career that was somewhat stagnant. The series was an immediate and dazzling success, bringing the actor immense popularity.
2015After eleven seasons, he left “Grey’s Anatomy”. But he will return as a guest in 2020.
2023He was voted the sexiest man on the planet by People magazine.
Read alsoPascal Gavillethas been a journalist in the cultural section since 1992. He mainly deals with cinema, but he also writes on other fields. Especially science. As such, he is also a mathematician.More information@PascalGavillet
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