Almost two weeks in waiting. Bugging friends and co-workers. Wondering when the desk phone rang if it would be him. Wondering on the weekends if my phone rang and it said private or a Los Angeles number would it be him. Finally, at 8:17 p.m. Wednesday the cell rang and it was Patrick Dempsey's fellow driver and mentor, Joe Foster. After emailing me for almost two weeks that the Grey's Anatomy star could be calling any day but was filming on set, he finally arrived at Daytona International Speedway late Wednesday.
He handed him the phone and Dempsey was very apologetic about how busy he's been filming the show and was sorry he didn't get back to me earlier. The notebook and questions I had prepared and stayed near my cell just in case the call came started flowing. I had my interview and was offiially the envy of friends and some fellow reporters. I was glad to prove wrong a friend's statement -- "That man's not calling you" -- after also bugging him about it for days.
Dempsey talked about his love for racing, growing up watching Indy and Daytona 500 races with his father, who is now deceased. He also was passionate about his charity work and the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing that opened last year in honor of his mother, an ovarian cancer surviver.
He also expressed concerns about a potential actor's strike and his urging against it. He's stressed how grateful he is to have a job and tries not to complain despite changes on the show and some actors recently leaving.
On Thursday, being a Daytona Beach reporter got even better when I spotted him just getting off the track for practice and heading to his trailer. He generously stopped for a fan, Judy Riley of Vero Beach, and posed for a photo. I then got his attention and had some follow-up questions, including pointing out that he is actually 43. He laughed and said "I guess you're right" when I pointed out he said he was 42, but had a birthday recently.
Read more about his acting, racing and charity work online Friday at www.news-journalonline.com.
He's soooo hawt.