Patrick Dempsey Revealed Why He Became Frustrated By McDreamy

Grey’s Anatomy fans may remember that Cristina was the first character to call Derek “McDreamy,” all the way back in Season 1, Episode 2 — casually introducing one of the most iconic (and fitting) nicknames in TV history. The moniker actually came from Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes herself, who told Oprah Winfrey that it was based on a real-life observation about Patrick Dempsey’s gorgeousness. “When we were shooting the pilot, Patrick was seriously the most adorable man we’d ever seen on camera,” she said. “We’d watch the monitor and think, ‘Look at his dreamy eyes!’ So we started calling him Patrick [Dempsey] McDreamy, and it stuck.”

However, Dempsey himself doesn’t necessarily identify with the expectations that come with such a nickname. The Disenchanted star recently told Fatherly that the pressure, plus the demands of production and publicity, made Grey’s Anatomy difficult to continue long-term. “If you’re a celebrity that has any kind of visibility, people are going to clock you and your behavior,” he said in the interview. “How you deal with people is really critical. Then you have something like McDreamy, it’s like this is supposedly the perfect male. How do you hold that? I’m not that at all. I think that was a frustration towards the end of it. It’s like this is unsustainable.”

That doesn’t mean Dempsey regrets his time playing Derek, though. In fact, he said the role “opened so many doors around the world,” giving him more opportunities that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

It’s not the first time Dempsey has expressed some ambivalence about his decade-long tenure on Grey’s Anatomy. Last year, he told The Independent that while McDreamy was merely “an archetype,” he doesn’t mind when new fans call him that. “If they see me and it makes them feel good, and my identifying that for them makes them feel validated, then I’m very happy about it,” he explained.

Whatever you want to call his character, don’t expect to see Dempsey back on Grey’s Anatomy anytime soon. While Derek’s nephew will continue his legacy on Season 19 (and hopefully beyond), everyone’s favorite neurosurgeon seems to have found peace in the afterlife. “For me, there’s nothing left there to go back and do at this point,” Dempsey told Fatherly. “I think the show is trying to find its legs without many of the original characters remaining.”