Flipping the script

8 a.m., Los Angeles time. 11 p.m., Manila time. We were waiting for McDreamy to virtualize on the TV screen before us so we could talk about the new men’s fragrance he’s endorsing, Unscripted from Avon, “the company for women.” The cabal of women at the videoconference was getting agitated and swoony. Finally, the static screen scrambled to life and Patrick Dempsey appeared, fresh as the morning in a crisp suit and blue shirt. He raised a toast with a glass of pink bubbly as we did the same, miles away. Yes, I can say I drank champagne with Patrick Dempsey! The wonders of semi-new technology doesn’t cease to amaze me.

Known as the good Dr. Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy and more recently as the well-intentioned lead in rom-coms like Made of Honor and Enchanted, Dempsey is definitely a man in the moment, a sexy yet approachable star, rugged yet clean, and a gifted actor comfortable playing hot, emotionally beguiling male characters. His wife Jillian is a makeup artist and the Global Creative Color Director for Avon, so it was no big leap of the imagination to find Dempsey collaborating with the company.

“I had a great time getting involved in creating a cologne. I liked the challenge of it,” he says. Dempsey was involved throughout the whole creative process, from the design of the package to what went into the fragrance itself. “The top notes of cracked peppercorn are really fresh. And the patchouli adds a nice balance. There’s a misconception about patchouli being a hippie scent, but it’s not like that at all. It’s a very elegant, almost unisex smell.” Before we started deducting man-points and calling him McCheesy he quickly quips, “And I can’t believe I’m talking about cologne! It’s very funny.”

Dempsey himself is a lover of the memory-stirring olfactory pleasures of lavender and lilac, which take him back to springtime in the small Maine town where he grew up. “When women wear things that are really subtle, that draw you in, those are the smells I find sensual and exciting. The smell of hair...and I like rain, especially the day after — there’s a certain freshness in that.” While he enjoys the modernity and freshness of Unscripted — it’s the 2000s answer to the heavy, musky men’s colognes of old that reek of leather and cigars — Dempsey claims he’s quite the traditionalist and a lover of the classics. “I do try to find moments where I can be more modern and progressive and unscripted in my life,” he says.

The classic silver Mercedes sports car seen in the ad campaign was sort of an impulse purchase for Dempsey and proof that his “unscripted” behavior can mingle nicely with his appreciation for fine vintage vehicles. “The concept was ‘follow your passion,’ and I was immediately attracted to the idea of shooting in a car. I saw this Mercedes online, and secretly wanted to buy it, but didn’t tell my wife I bought it until the day of the shoot,” he grins. “I really love cars. They’re works of art, sculptural pieces.”

The McSpeedy side of Dempsey is also an integral part to the whole campaign, if not the essence of the life-on-the-road, follow-your-passion mythology behind Unscripted. As an endurance racer who placed ninth in the recent Le Mans race in France, he loves the adventure of a good morning drive, and its push and pull between focus and flow. “An endurance race puts you right in in the present — you can’t think about the past or the future. But when you get out of the car, it becomes something to meditate on. That’s why it was fun using the car as a symbol. I think everyone has their own way of getting into that space.”

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Patrick Dempsey Unscripted will be available starting September through Avon representatives nationwide. Call the Avon hotline at 864-2900.