Interview for Men’s Health UK

In their October-November issue, the magazine featured an interview with Patrick Dempsey. Read it below.

Leading man

Patrick Dempsey, 59, has had a prolific 40-year career on the big and small screens, but his turns on the racetrack have been just as high-octane

Having initially retired from racing in 2015, Dempsey is back behind the wheel again. He has competedin endurance races such as 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona, and is an ambassador for Tag Heuer – the Swiss firm renowned for its cult driving watches.

My start in acting was purely accidental. As a kid, I wanted to be an Olympic skier – my hero was Ingemar Stenmark, who was the greatest skier of all time then. He did an interview for ABC Sports where he was riding a unicycle as part of his training. I wanted to improve my balance on the slopes, so I sold seeds from door-to-door to make enough money to order a unicycle.

One day, after cycling to shop class, my teacher taught me to juggle after the power went out. They said they needed someone to ride a unicycle in this vaudeville troupe, and I started performing to make money. Then I ended up in this talent competition in Portland, Maine, and won. That earned me a spot in the national talent competition in New York, so I borrowed a couple of bucks from the local store and my dad to fly there. I won that, too, and ended up auditioning for [the stage production] Torch Song Trilogy written by Harvey Fierstein – and that was the start. It was a real turning point of my life, making the decision to go to New York on my own in the early 1980s, aged 17. My father said to me, This is your moment. If you make it, you have to do it now!

As a kid, my dad was a big fan of racing, which is how I got into it. During the golden era of the early and mid 1970s, there were the big marquee events to watch, like the Indy 500. There was a delay in the telecast and the race would be shown at night – but you could get it live on the radio. I remember being in the station wagon and turning on the radio when I was supposed to be cutting the lawn, and I would lie down on the seat and listen.

There’s something special about the mindfulness, camaraderie and teamwork in racing. In the 24-hour endurance races, like Daytona and Sebring, there are chapters and times where you need to know how to pace yourself, when to amp it up, when to push it and when to relax. If you’re a lap down, you have to be patient – and then fight back, because it’s never over until the very last lap.

Midway through a World Endurance Championship race in 2015 at Fuji Speedway, I realised I had to stop racing. thought that would be my last race. There was this internal shift where I felt I’d done what I needed to do and it was time to move on. The motivation had gone. I could feel it. I remember Jackie Stewart’s voice in my head – Do enough just to win the race’- and all of the memories of my racing career were flashing through my mind. it was full of emotion.

It’s tough finding the time to exercise when I’m on the road. Doing neck exercises, core exercises and free weights is really important for the physical demands of racing and acting. I find an assault bike to be the best upper-body/lower-body workout, but when I’m staying in a hotel, it’s mostly body-weight exercises.

The older you get, the harder it gets to stay in shape. I don’t drink any alcohol and I’m very careful about the amount of sugar I take – although my daughter is a pastry chef and it’s a bit frustrating when she brings in her samples. However, she’s gone to study in London now, so l’ve leaned out a little bit -I can see it in my trousers.

My relationship with Tag Heuer started 11 years ago. Being part of racing history but not in a purely cinematic way – gives the brand a real sense of tradition and authenticity, which people feel.

The Tag Heuer Monaco that was presented to me on the grid in Le Mans is my favourite watch. Interestingly, when it first came out, you couldn’t give them away. Then in 1971, when filming Le Mans, Steve McQueen said he wanted to wear the same watch as his stunt driver, Jo Siffert, which was a Monaco. Now it’s become one the most successful watches of the brand.