-I'm not afraid to fail, even in public. It's too easy to pretend you have it together, because no one does. The more you can allow yourself to make mistakes, the better off you're going to be. That's what life is about. You're going to get thrown off, and you just need to get back on.
-(about being considered a "hottie" by female fans) People are seeing a fantasy. It's not necessarily me, but it does help your ego. My wife makes fun of me for it. She always says in the morning, "They should see you now!"
-(about his father dying when he was 18) That's a big loss. It would have been nice to have been able to communicate with my father as a man, not just a kid. I would have liked to have had that. But you have to find it in yourself. You have to be your own father.
-I hate shaving. It's much easier to just do a little stubble, but my wife and daughter like it when I'm clean-shaven. If you see me with a clean face, then you know I'm in the kissing mode!
-(in 2006) Plastic surgery? I don't think so. For a guy, you're better off to just accept age as it happens. But talk to me in 20 years, and we'll go from there.
-(about fathering three children) I'm loving it, and it surprises me because I like being alone, but at the same time, there is something really comforting in a house full of kids. Then I got home to projectile vomiting one night, and it was like, "Wow! Back to reality."
-(explaining his sons' names) Darby came from the name of a punk-rock singer, Darby Crash from the Germs. My father had an uncle Galen that he liked, so I was named Patrick Galen. And Sullivan was what we were going to call Tallulah if she had been a boy. They're fun names and they fit the boys.
-(about his family holidays in England) It was nice to be in an environment where you're not that well known. Here in L.A., we can't go out without somebody taking pictures or videotaping us, which is ridiculous. Being in Europe gave us a sense of getting back top normal as a family. You're relaxed, not looking over your shoulder.
-(on his dyslexia) Reading to my daughter has been therapeutic. I've gone back and started to learn to read on a very basic level. I'm reading Dr. Seuss, and I'm healing that part of myself, as well as developing my daughter.
-Now I’m just known as McDreamy, I’ve lost all identity as Patrick Dempsey, I’m now McDreamy.
-(on choosing not to enter acting school) I think it's better to learn from actors who are working than study with actors who aren't working.
-I look forward to a time when my career in a place where I can get out of Los Angeles and find a nice small town like I grew up in to raise my family.
-When I left Maine, I always wanted to be a working actor. I never cared too much about being the star. I just wanted to do the work and get on with it.
-(on why he couldn't stand to go to the movies during his decade-long career-drought) I'd come in with this bitter attitude. It's not an escape, because I feel this disappointment, this jealousy.
-One day my 3-year-old daughter said 'Your very handsome, Poppy.' That was the best compliment ever.
-(about opening a center for cancer patients in Maine) Celebrity in itself is not that fabulous, but if you can use it to help make a change, it's great. Maine is part of the core of who I am, and I want to give back to that community. My mom is not a person who talks about her feelings a lot, but I think she's quietly very proud of me.
-(on his wedding ceremony) There was no big disaster. We just had the photographers. They got really drunk and gave us one picture from the whole experience. But we gave everybody Instamatic Cameras and those were some of the best shots. We had a great time.
- I'm just enjoying life more than I ever have. I've worked hard to get to this point in my relationship and my career. I understand how fortunate we are to have the phenomenon that's happening with Grey's Anatomy. I'm trying to enjoy the moment while it's here and be able to provide for my family so that I can step away and enjoy raising them away from all this. For me, being a dad is the meaning of life.
-(on racing) It's a very Zen experience. You're so in the moment. For me, it's the only place where I really can relax and calm down.
-(on his good looks) I look in the mirror and wonder what they're all seeing. If anything, I see what I don't like about my face. *(Seriouly ?Is there anything not to like ?)*
