Patrick Dempsey on Shonda Rhimes: 'She loves being provocative'

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Patrick Dempsey, who formerly appeared as long-running character Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, says showrunner Shonda Rhimes knows exactly how to make the media do what she wants.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Monday, Dempsey, 49, dodged a question regarding whether he and Rhimes harbored animosity and instead complimented her productive style.

"I think she loves being provocative and that's fine for who she is," Dempsey said. "That gets people talking about all the stuff that she's doing....She's promoting a book. She's promoting three shows. And she's emerging as the star of all these things. I think she knows how to deal with the media and what she needs to say to get the response that she's looking for. She's very savvy."

Dempsey was killed-off Grey's Anatomy after working on the show for 11 years. In August, Rhimes explained Dr. Shepherd's death was "the only way to preserve what felt true," between himself and the show's title character Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo.

Rhimes is not only the creator of Grey's, but also the showrunner of Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away With Murder. Her most recent project, a memoir titled Year of Yes, was released in November.

This month, Dempsey joins Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth on the cover of Entertainment Weekly to promote the upcoming film Bridget Jones's Baby. The actor's post-Grey's Anatomy days, he said, are great. "It's been an incredible year," the actor and professional racer reflected.