Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Dr. Derek Shepherd is the head of neurosurgery at Seattle Grace Hospital, who becomes intimately involved with Meredith Grey, one of the surgical interns in the hospital. Their relationship is what preoccupies Derek throughout his days, apart from the numerous patients he has to heal and save.
His marriage to his college sweetheart, Dr. Addison Montogomery, collapsed when he discovered that she had been unfaithful to him. To make matters worse, Addison’s affair had been with his best friend, Dr. Mark Sloan. Scarred and wounded, Derek moved to Seattle, where he easily found a companion and lover in Dr. Meredith Grey. As with many relationships that start with a one-night stand, Derek and Meredith encountered many obstacles, which include the appearance of Addison in Seattle Grace.
Being a family man, Derek decided to try to work on his marriage, leaving Meredith to wallow in her heartache. Soon though, he realized that his heart truly found a home with Meredith, and he tried to reconnect with her by offering her his friendship and adopting her dog, Doc. When Meredith started dating Doc’s veterinarian, Dr. Finn, Derek clearly got upset and confronted Meredith. Ultimately, they reconciled and resumed their love affair, but he came close to losing her again when Meredith drowned and submitted to a death-like state. The incident forced Derek to reevaluate his treatment of Meredith, and consequently became more protective of her and supportive.
Professionally, Derek is a huge success, but has also experienced many setbacks, including heading an operation that leaves surgeon Dr. Burke with a slight hand tremor and failing to save the life of an obsessive-compulsive patient on his operating table. Nevertheless, he has worked very hard to get where he is, as he and his sisters (who all finished medical school) grew up without a father in a low working class neighborhood. Currently, he lives in a trailer in Bainbridge Island and likes to eat Muesli cereal for breakfast.
(Photo courtesy of ABC)