Patrick Dempsey: Enchanted's Dreamguy

Dr. McDreamy has escaped the small screen again to play a disillusioned New Yorker falling for a naive, animated Disney princess visiting the real world in the new fantasy romantic comedy Enchanted.

You know that smile, those eyes, those pecs? Yeah, this guy is even cuter in person. We sat down with Patrick in Beverly Hills. Nice to see him out of his "Grey's Anatomy" doc scrubs and into shirt and tie, topped with a black sweater and there's always that signature sexy shadow beard. Sigh.

We got the goods on the actor's struggles with birds flying into his face and all heck breaking lose around him while he had to play the straight man in the movie. Then there was the delight of his five-year-old daughter Tallulah that daddy is in a film with a Disney princess!

TeenHollywood: You are one of the few actors in the film who doesn't get to also be an animated character. Was that disappointing?

Patrick: Well, I'm hoping it does well enough so there's a sequel and we go back to Andalasia and we can call it Disenchanted. She gives birth to a child and doesn't like it, then she's like, 'I want to go back to the cartoon world.'

TeenHollywood: Cute. You're almost like the straight man in this. Was that a difficult role to play with all the craziness going on?

Patrick: Well that was the hard part. Everybody's having a great time over acting and being brilliant, and I had to kind of just drive the narrative, which was challenging but I just wanted to be a part of it because it's hard to find stories that are original and different. There was something about this that was timeless and familiar as well, so it felt like it was entertaining on a lot of levels. As a parent, it's a nice family film, but also it's a good date movie as well. I think the symbolism in it, and the archetypes are really fascinating. It was different, and at the time I thought it was the right move to make, and still do.

TeenHollywood: You have a scene with a bunch of animals who have invaded your apartment. Can you talk about the bird in the face - how many times did you do that?

Patrick: That was just that one take. It kind of just happened perfectly. The first two scenes were the ones with the rats and the birds, and it was like, 'Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?' because I never felt completely comfortable in the movie, quite honestly, and maybe that works for the character.

TeenHollywood: Why weren't you comfortable?

Patrick: Well, because everybody's so larger-than-life that you're trying to figure out do you have the right tone? Are you hitting the right beats emotionally and comedically without going over the edge? The more you're honest, the better it is for people to come in and then see the world through Robert's [his character's]eyes. I think that's how people start to react, and that was really challenging. And certainly with Amy [Adams who plays the princess], [it was just] unbelievable to watch her. It made my job a lot easier. All I had to do was just listen and watch her and react to what she was giving me, but I never felt comfortable, it was always kind of strange stylistically.

TeenHollywood: What about the Central Park sequence and that whole musical number? Did you enjoy that?

Patrick: That was the best. I think my favorite part was obviously rehearsing for the dance number at the end with Cha-Cha (John O'Connell) who did Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge. I think the amount of sensitivity and artistry that he brought to making you feel that every move you made in the dance was so vital to the story, that to me was probably the most enjoyable part of the process. And in the dancing numbers and certainly in Central Park, working in Manhattan doing something like that is just unbelievable.

TeenHollywood: Did you have a favorite Disney movie growing up?

Patrick: Not really. I like them all. They're all different types of movies. Of course now with kids you see them all 19 times. We just finally broke out of Peter Pan and we're moving on now to Enchanted, the website. [His daughter] was like, 'Can I go to the website and play with the games?' And 'When's the princess coming over?' and 'Is the chipmunk at the [press] junket?' So that's really cute and it's fun.

TeenHollywood: Is being a dad more challenging than you thought or easier than you thought?

Patrick: It's different, it's easier and more challenging, because there's three kids and you develop an individual relationship with all of them. You have to have time with each one separately yet there's something really comforting in a house full of people and kids. It surprises me, because I usually like being alone, but I'm really loving it.

TeenHollywood: How do you raise kids not to be cynical in a cynical world?

Patrick: I don't know, that's the challenge. That's the biggest worry I have.

TeenHollywood: Are you a no nonsense guy or a romantic at heart?

Patrick: A little bit of both I think, depends on the mood. Defining romance is very tricky, because I think there's a lot that goes into romance, and it's not just necessarily candles and flowers.

TeenHollywood: Is this character closer to you in real life or McDreamy?

Patrick: I think there's always a part of you in all of the characters. There's a part of me in all of them, because there's certainly the part [of] the father that's in Robert that's in me.

TeenHollywood: Why do you think that "Greys" has got such a following?

Patrick: Well, I think it's the young men and women in the work place who have identified with the interns initially. I think it came at the right time when 'Sex and the City' was phasing out, 'Friends' was phasing out, and it came in and filled that void at that time. I think the ensemble, the music all add to it. There's something compelling about the characters that people really identify with.

TeenHollywood: What's the mood on the set this year?

Patrick: Much better. I think now basically people are really wanting the storylines to move forward a little faster. I think Shonda's [show runner Shonda Rhimes] is much more receptive this season, certainly in the middle part of the season where she's looking for more feedback and collaboration from people than she had in the past.

[Note: at the time of this interview the Hollywood writer's strike was looming. Of course it is now happening].

TeenHollywood: How many more episodes do you have to shoot if the writer's go out?

Patrick: We've only done 11, so we're halfway through our season. We are probably going to finish out this next episode the next week or so, and that will give us 11 shows for this season, and that could be it for the year.

TeenHollywood: What do you think you'll do during this down time?

Patrick: It gives me a little bit of a break I think certainly to just kind of rest and be with my family, and the holiday season is coming up, so it doesn't affect me as dramatically as other people I think.

TeenHollywood: You've done theatre, so what was it like dancing and working with Idina Menzel [who played "bad" witch Elphaba in the popular Broadway musical "Wicked"?].

Patrick: There was a great moment when we were doing a dance number, it was like a late Friday night and it was a really wide shot and we started just making some music and the band caught on, and then the dancers caught on, and it sort of became like this 'Fame' moment, where everybody broke into spontaneous dance. It was really special. You felt like there was a true company there with the dancers. The spirit of the dancers was the best part of the experience for me certainly. There was something true and creative about that that brings you back to the moment when you first fell in love with acting I think.

TeenHollywood: You have to do movies during your breaks from "Grey's Anatomy". Is it a challenge to find things that really interest you?

Patrick: Yeah. Right now I really don't want to do anything violent. I think we have too much violence in the world, and it's really important to do movies that are light. During the war or during the depression era we needed to have those screwball comedies that are smart, that are fun, that are good spirited, that weren't so negative. I want to go and escape for two hours or an hour and a half. I don't want to come home and have to deal with the news and all of that stuff, it's just so bleak. For me personally I want to just check out for an hour and a half.

TeenHollywood: Okay, now there is a doll of your character is this movie. Is it weird to have a doll of yourself?

Patrick: [Laughs] It's surreal. It's really surreal when your daughter's playing with Giselle [Amy's character] and myself right there and they're talking. But I'm having a blast. I'm really enjoying everything. I think at this point in my life, it's been a long road to get to here and the steps that I'm taking hopefully will allow me to have a nice career.

TeenHollywood: If there's a sequel to this, would you like to sing?

Patrick: I talked to Alan [Menken the composer] about it. Like I can't sing but it would be fun to go back and find some sort of style of singing that would be appropriate for his character. Sort of a patter type of thing and some more dancing I think would be fun to do as well.

TeenHollywood: When you do a Disney movie, do you get free passes to Disneyland?

Patrick: Yeah, you do. You get all the great stuff. Your kids love you because you get all the books and all the games and all the dolls that are out and you get free passes if you go. You can't just send your family. You have to go. So you get to go on one ride over and over again which is great.

TeenHollywood: On this film, did you have table reads or rehearsals? Did you and Amy get together and talk about your characters or did you just go right into it?

Patrick: I had maybe a couple meetings with the writer about things that were concerning me in making that leap [when he brings] her home. I could never quite buy that. It was like this is a crazy woman, what's the logical step? You wouldn't do this in real life because you don't know if she's going to come in and kill the entire family. So that was a question that we kind of had to answer and I don't think we ever quite answered. You buy it because of who Amy is. You kind of let certain things go. No, I went right into it when I finished on "Grey's" and then I went right into shooting right away.

TeenHollywood: The little girl who plays your film daughter Morgan is adorable. Because you have children, was it easier for you to connect with her in some way and help her?

Patrick: Yes and no. I mean there were certain things that were real easy and some things that were not. Because you're like, 'Well, if this was my child, I'd be doing things differently.' So you've got to find a balance there. But it was fun and she was rather inexperienced and that was good I think. She was an interesting looking girl and there was a good spirit to her.

TeenHollywood: Would you go back and do theater now just to get that live audience experience?

Patrick: I think it would depend on the group of people, who the director was, and what the material would be. It would be far more interesting for me to go to some sort of regional theater and there wouldn't be any pressure just to enjoy the process. I think the rehearsal process in theater is probably the most enjoyable. If I can do it that way, I would go back certainly. But I don't think technically my voice is where it should be to be on stage and certainly not on Broadway at the moment.

TeenHollywood: What are your Thanksgiving and Christmas plans with your family? I imagine travel is limited now with two young sons.

Patrick: Yes, certainly a little more difficult going through security. That's not fun at all. I'll probably go back to Maine. I want to go back to Maine. I haven't been back for about a year because of last year with the babies coming we couldn't travel. I really like snow and it's an old home. It was built in 1934 and we've had it for about 10 years now. We got married there and I want my children to have that tradition.

TeenHollywood: Is there a pet project or some character that you're dying to play?

Patrick: There's a couple things that I'm exploring. I'm really enjoying it and this film is, I think, a good first step moving forward. It's a fun family movie but I think adults will enjoy it as well. It's good spirited. I think it's something really special.

TeenHollywood: What else do you have coming out?

Patrick: Made of Honor which comes out in May with Michelle Monaghan. Romantic comedy. That was challenging and I really loved being in Europe and it was great for my family to come over there. We did a lot of theater and horseback riding and visited the country a bit and I liked that.

TeenHollywood: Who do you play in Made of Honor?

Patrick: I play a guy who is extremely successful because he invented the coffee collar; you know, they keep you from burning your hand. And he's a bit of a playboy and he's really good friends with Michelle Monaghan's character. They're best friends and she goes off and falls in love with this Scottish man, then comes back and asks him to be the maid of honor and at that point he realizes how much he really loves her and that she's the perfect girl for him and then he has to go and try to figure out how to sabotage the marriage and the wedding.

TeenHollywood: Is it surprising to you that after 20 years they're still making romantic comedies where it was your best friend all along that you should have married?

Patrick: Well there's only so many stories when it comes to that, you know. So I think that was the challenge for us. We were like, 'Okay, this is a predictable story. How do you go about making it interesting and giving it a new point of view?' I like the old Cary Grant movies so we just tried to get it back to the dialogue and the spontaneity and things like that. I haven't seen it yet. I've heard it's good and I'm sure everybody will let me know soon enough.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.