Interview with Vanity Fair Italia

While he was at the Spanish Grand Prix (12-13/09), Patrick Dempsey sat down with Vanity Fair Italia for an interview. Read the translation below.

Patrick Dempsey: “At 60 years old, what counts is the quality of your time and who you spend it with. I tell my children: we have to slow down and learn”

We met the actor at the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Spanish Grand Prix: “At this stage of life, what matters to me is the quality of time and the people I spend it with. Alessandro Borghi? An affectionate, funny and very intelligent man”

“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about time is that it flows away quickly. And the more time advances, the more I perceive its value”. Patrick Dempsey turned 60 last January, 27 years spent with his wife Jillian Fink. A life full of passions and satisfactions: three children, cinema, skiing, engines, watches, which “keep you in the present and remind you of the importance of facing every single moment by seizing the best of it”. We meet him in Madrid, during the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Spanish Grand Prix 2026, on his wrist he has a TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Sport, launched right for the event. “For me, at this stage of life, what matters is the quality of time and the people I spend it with, I have no intention of wasting it”.

So, in the past, was your perception of time different?

Of course, my bond with the concept of time strengthened a lot when I practised competitive skiing: my idol was Ingemar Stenmark and the goal on the track was to go faster than the others, stop the clock as soon as possible. Today I live it in a completely different way, there has been an evolution, I am in another chapter of life.

So you no longer consider yourself a “fast person”?

To tell the truth I’m very impatient (laughs). I like to move. And the faster I move, the more my head calms down.

Moments of rest?

When I’m at home my rhythms are very slow, I enjoy relaxation and tranquility. Only there can I really relax, away from the frenzy that imposes the world outside, where it consumes a lot of energy. That’s why I need a sort of isolation, of solitude: the house is the place where I find peace, that’s where time stops.

Is it your secret to “stop time”?

I believe that, in this sense, the most important thing to do is to stay in the present, to live it by facing the obstacles that come our way, one at a time. Studying Buddhism is very useful because it involves this type of philosophy: when you have a precise idea of what you want to do, but then you clash with reality, and then you wonder what to do to accept what is happening and get the best out of it. I also find a bit of Roman stoicism: acting in the present, without postponing, expressing the best version of oneself. During the period in which I worked in Rome I immersed myself in this philosophy, with Marcus Aurelius. You observe history and realize that it repeats itself, it is human nature: it is essential to accept it and, precisely, to live in the present. Easy to say, hard to do.

Beyond the final result, it is still a direction.

I believe that everyone should seriously study stoicism, now more than ever: thus the ability to detach themselves from the constant bombardment of images, news and negativity would be acquired. To find your positive side, kindness, putting it at the service of others. It’s a challenge, of course, because the universe puts you to the test, leveraging your weaknesses. But it is precisely from failure that you have the best turns.

The “fastest” character you have played in your career?

I believe that Angelo Doyle, in Memory of a Killer (TV series released this year in the United States), is the most apt in this sense: he is a murderer suffering from Alzheimer’s, so he is very worried about time before losing his lucidity, concentration and reason. Try to get everything done quickly.

So not McDreamy…

Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy is exactly the opposite of Angelo Doyle, a different archetype. The first is a romantic protagonist, a savior, while the second is the anti-hero, there is a darker side. I can say that it’s nice to interpret the shadow, something different from what I did in the past.

Continuing the roundup of your characters, in Devils you worked alongside Alessandro Borghi. Are you still in touch?

Borghi is the best (he exclaims loudly). It’s a joy to be with him because he’s affectionate, funny, very intelligent and very supportive, a wonderful actor and a fantastic person. His work ethic is incredible, a true gentleman, he recently became a father. Even Guido Brera (who wrote the novel from which the series is based on) is a really brilliant person: we remained very close, it was fortunate to work with them and I hope it will happen again in the future.

Let’s finish with Ferrari, where you play the role of the historic driver Piero Taruffi: any anecdote from the set?

It’s without a doubt my favorite movie among those I’ve made. I stayed in Modena, at Casa Maria Luigia, I was with Massimo (Bottura, ed) and his family. I lived a dream: to live in the countryside, to feel Italian, to enjoy fantastic food. I remember the long bike rides, people approached and we pedaled together, we chatted. And when I wasn’t working I drove cars, I went to the factory. A real dream.

On the other hand, as a driver, cars are in your DNA. What is the race you are most fond of?

It’s normal for the mind to immediately go to second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 (GTE Amateur category, ed), but I think there have been other races in which, despite not having won anything, I drove better. I remember one in particular, in which I was very strong but I started at the bottom of the lineup because of an accident at the end of qualifying: I went back to the podium. Even winning in Japan, at the 6 Hours of Fuji, with my teammates Patrick Long and Marco Seefried, was a unique feeling.

Emotions from the highest step?

From that moment something has changed. I said to myself: “ok, goal achieved, now I can be present and be with my family”. A sense of relaxation and fulfillment, was the closing of a chapter. This is why I always feel like thanking TAG Heuer who allowed me to live some of the best experiences of my life, starting authentically as a sponsor on the car. It all started like this.

Speaking of TAG and victories, their slogan is “Designed to win”: do you find yourself in that?

My thought is that you don’t win overnight, but it’s the final result of a path and the quality of the work done along the way. With its ups and downs, its failures, its decisive choices. I believe that this is the true meaning of that sentence, of how important it is to plan to win, to go through the process that is not immediate. Unfortunately we live in a society, and you see it well with my twenty-year-old children, in which you look at Instagram where apparently successful people appear. But the reality is different, success is built with patience.

Do you have any advice to give?

When I grew up, as a boy, there was no such constant bombardment of images. I think you should always keep the various phases in mind: first you are a student, then you do an apprenticeship, you acquire skills and, finally, you become the teacher yourself: it’s the cycle of life. Today we don’t teach people to take the time to learn. You can’t be a leader until you’ve learned to follow others. We need to slow down and work on this. “Designed to win” means this: building the lifestyle, discipline, concentration and passion necessary to achieve that goal.

So it is the same in life, as in racing.

It must be said that in the races there are so many elements that must fit perfectly: to be at the right time, in the right place. Motorsport, in this sense, is a bit zen: you are completely immersed in the instant and you are called to react immediately to what happens.