Patrick Dempsey Reflects on Leaving Grey’s Anatomy and Turning to Racing, Charity and New Roles

patrick dempsey has said he felt it was "time to walk away" from the hit medical drama after departing the series in 2015. The comments came during an appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show and highlight a shift in his priorities toward professional racing and his cancer care charity.

What happened and what’s new

Patrick Dempsey was an original cast member of the medical drama when it first aired in 2005, playing Dr Derek Shepherd, widely known to viewers as McDreamy. He left the series during its 11th season in 2015, later explaining that he chose to step away because it felt like the right moment to do so.

He told the Jonathan Ross Show that he had the opportunity to race a full season in the WEC, identified as the (FIA) World Endurance Championship, and that racing was a long-held passion. After leaving the show he participated in international sportscar racing and achieved first place in a six-hour endurance race held in Japan.

Dempsey has described Grey’s Anatomy as a blessing and credited the show’s visibility with helping his charity work. He opened a cancer treatment centre in his hometown of Lewiston, Maine called The Dempsey Centre, which provides free holistic services including nutritional care, counselling, fitness classes and integrative therapies. He said the centre was inspired by his mother’s ovarian cancer journey, which included more than a dozen recurrences, and emphasized that the centre treats the person holistically rather than the disease alone.

On a personal note, Dempsey said he intentionally kept the show away from his children, describing them as direct with their opinions. He also noted that being named the "sexiest man alive" in 2023 was a surprise. As an actor he has appeared in a range of films, including Enchanted, Made of Honor and Bridget Jones' Baby, and he currently leads a U. S. crime drama called Memory Of A Killer, in which he plays a figure balancing family life with a secret role as a hit man.

Patrick Dempsey: Behind the headline

The decision to leave a long-running, high-profile series and pivot to other pursuits reflects a combination of personal interest, professional opportunity and charitable commitment. The move toward endurance racing — specifically a full season in the WEC — indicates a deliberate choice to prioritize a different discipline outside mainstream acting for a period. Simultaneously, the visibility afforded by the series has been deployed to support community health work: the creation and operation of The Dempsey Centre is presented as directly tied to the actor’s family experience with cancer.

Stakeholders include the actor himself, whose career and personal priorities are central; viewers and emerging medical professionals, whom he credits as inspired by the show; patients and families served by his charity; and audiences for his continuing film and television work. Each group experiences different gains and exposures tied to his career moves.

What we still don’t know

• Full details of the WEC season commitment beyond the opportunity to do a full season and the single noted race victory.
• Specifics about how his children view his current projects or their ages and involvement.
• Long-term plans for balancing racing, acting and charity work.
• Operational or funding details for The Dempsey Centre beyond the services it offers.
• Future acting commitments beyond the current crime drama mentioned.

What happens next

• Continued focus on racing: if additional WEC entries or endurance events are announced, that would indicate a longer-term commitment to motorsport.
• Expansion of charitable work: further growth or programs at The Dempsey Centre would signal deepening of the community health effort.
• Selective acting roles: taking lead roles like the one in the current crime drama suggests a pattern of choosing projects that fit alongside other pursuits rather than returning full-time to a series.
• Public profile moments: honors or high-profile recognitions could amplify fundraising and awareness for the charity operation.

Why it matters

The choices and explanation given by patrick dempsey matter to multiple audiences. For fans, they clarify why a popular character departed the series. For prospective health professionals, his observation that the show inspired interest in medicine underscores a cultural impact beyond entertainment. For patients and caregivers, the existence and approach of The Dempsey Centre point to a model of holistic post-treatment support informed by personal experience. In the near term, the combination of continued acting, racing achievements and charity visibility will shape how his career is perceived and how effectively his public profile translates into support for patient services.