There’s always a fear when playing a character who’s become too popular that you’ll be pigeonholed into that role for the rest of your career. It’s a valid concern but one which seems to apply more toward eccentric personalities like Urkel, Screech and the Progressive Insurance woman rather than more normalized people, regardless of the fandom they may inspire. Patrick Dempsey’s McDreamy may be culturally relevant in the same way as Hagman’s J.R. or O’Neill’s Al Bundy, but I have a hard time imagining the general public won’t be able to see him as someone else, especially if the following project comes to fruition. Plus, O’Neill eventually overcame the foul-mouthed father and is now crushing on Modern Family.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Dempsey is very interested in playing Marvel superhero Doctor Strange. The sorcerer and all-around badass has never really been given the adaptation he’s deserved, and there’s been talk for awhile that Marvel may look to center one of their next films or television shows around the character. Speaking about a meeting he took with several executives, Dempsey said, “At Comic-Con they were talking about me playing it and there was a rumor that I’d been cast. I mean, it’s something that’s kind of out there and, you know, I’ve been looking at that. It would be a fun one to do.”
We’ve still got a long way to go before anyone might be getting into costume, but the interest certainly seems to be there from both sides. Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer completed a script last year, and if the schedules can work out, there’s a good chance an offer might go out within the next few months.
