A Grey's Anatomy producer has claimed that Patrick Dempsey, who played Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy on the series, was written out of the show because of his “terrorizing” behavior on the sets.
Author Lynette Rice’s book How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy includes bombshell interviews with Grey’s Anatomy executive producer James D. Parriott along with other producers and former cast members has struck a chord with fans of the long-running medical drama series.
The book has revealed multiple reasons behind actor Patrick Dempsey’s character being written off, which has surprised Grey’s Anatomy fans beyond belief.
Patrick Dempsey Terrorized The Sets
The executive producer said in his interview, that Dempsey’s misdemeanor on the sets of the show caused cast members to have “PTSD” with him. The actor always arrived late, and displayed disinterest which frustrated everyone around him.
He said: “There were HR issues. It wasn’t sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorizing the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him. He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people.”
The producer also explained that Dempsey, and Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes “were at each other’s throats” because of it.
“The network and studio came down and we had sessions with them. I think he was just done with the show. He didn’t like the inconvenience of coming in every day and working. He and Shonda were at each other’s throats,” the book revealed.
Executive producer Jeannine Renshaw said, via THR, that Dempsey’s behaviour caused a rift in his friendship with Ellen Pompeo (who played his love interest on the show).
“There were times where Ellen was frustrated with Patrick and she would get angry that he wasn’t working as much. She was very big on having things be fair. She just didn’t like that Patrick would complain that ‘I’m here too late’ or ‘I’ve been here too long’ when she had twice as many scenes in the episode as he did.”
The actor also had a chance to speak his mind. Dempsey wanted to quit the show much earlier, but always stayed back because of the “money” he was offered.
“It [was] hard to say no to that kind of money. How do you say no to that? It’s remarkable to be a working actor, and then on top of that to be on a show that’s visible,” the actor expressed.