Dempsey showed off the new look while accepting the Disney Legend award at the D23 Expo in Anaheim Friday.
Patrick Dempsey's giving a new meaning to the term, silver fox! The 56-year-old actor showed off a silver-toned, bleached-blonde hairdo while accepting the Disney Legend award at the D23 Expo in Anaheim Friday.
Dempsey, who is known for his salt-and-pepper mane, was nearly unrecognizable as he took the stage to accept his trophy alongside his Grey's Anatomy co-star, Ellen Pompeo. With the honor, the Grey's alum joins a Hall of Fame for individuals who have made huge contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
ET spoke to Dempsey at the Expo, where he marveled at the impact Disney has had on his life.
"You know, it's really special. You start to look at all the images of how many films I have done and television shows, and all of that. Disney has had a big impact on my life and my family," Dempsey gushed. "It's very special. Tremendous honor."
Dempsey also shared the motivation behind his new 'do.
"I'm currently doing a movie in Rome right now that Michael Mann is directing," he explained. "Adam Driver is starring in it. It's about Ferrari's life in the 1950s and I play [Piero] Taruffi, who is the racer who wins the Mile Miglia in 1957. So, it's been a dream job with a great director. It's fantastic. So, it's a combination of all the things I love."
As for his family and whether they loved the silver-toned hair, Dempsey said the reviews were mixed.
"My kids freaked out and my son actually likes it," he revealed. "And one son doesn't, and my wife liked it too, so, it's fine. It's nice to have a little bit of a transition."
In addition to Pompeo and Dempsey, Blackish stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson and the late Chadwick Boseman were among the list of people also honored as Disney Legends, a notion Pompeo admitted she didn't know existed, but is nevertheless honored.
"I didn't imagine anything like this but I'm really glad it happened," Pompeo told ET at Friday's event. "I didn't know Disney Legends existed but I feel a little bit like a Disney princess. Life started out a little rocky and here I am in a big ballgown."
Later on in the three-day Expo, Dempsey was joined by his Enchanted castmates Amy Adams and Idina Menzel, to promote the Disenchanted sequel, streaming Nov. 24 on Disney+.
The sequel will see Giselle (Adams) now living in Monroeville, married to Robert Philip (Dempsey). James Marsden plays the dashing but daft Prince Edward from Andalasia; Menzel plays Nancy Tremaine, the former dressmaker now married to Prince Edward; and Maya Rudolph stars as Malvina, Giselle’s new adversary in Monroeville.
Kolton Stewart, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays and Oscar Nunez also star, while newcomer Gabriella Baldacchino, a 20-year-old from Glen Rock, New Jersey, will make her feature film debut in Disenchanted as Robert's now-grown daughter, Morgan.
For more on the D23 Expo, check out the video below.
RELATED CONTENT
