--- description: McDreamy gets his first big role after Grey's Anatomy title: Patrick Dempsey Gets Back on the Rom-Com Track image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ca8740374a2328/6988548fcd1bba78ce6fbd08/patrick-dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Patrick Dempsey Could Be the New Star of _Bridget Jones 3_ by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2015 12:36 PM CUT  Actor Patrick Dempsey attends the screening of 'WINNING: The Racing Life Of Paul Newman' at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, April 16, 2015 Actor Patrick Dempsey attends the screening of 'WINNING: The Racing Life Of Paul Newman' at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, April 16, 2015Paul Archuleta — Getty Images by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2015 12:36 PM CUT Bridget Jones is coming back for a third installment with Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth returning. And it seems a new actor will be joining the seasoned stars of the series as Patrick Dempsey is in final negotiations to star in _Bridget Jones’s Baby._ _Variety_ confirms Dempsey will be joining the cast, in the actor’s first big role since leaving [“Grey’s Anatomy](http://time.com/3833988/greys-anatomy-patrick-dempsey-interview/ "undefined").” Plot details are under lock and key, it seems, but are rumored to be based on columns written by Helen Fieldling, the series creator, and co-screenwriter of the new film. Hugh Grant, who played Daniel Cleaver in the 2001 original film and the 2004 follow-up, will not be returning. Production is set to begin in October. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4029107/patrick-dempsey-bridget-jones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4029107/patrick-dempsey-bridget-jones/"},"headline":"Patrick Dempsey Could Be the New Star of Bridget Jones 3","datePublished":"2015-09-10T12:36:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:49:48.465Z","description":"In his first big role since McDreamy","url":"https://time.com/4029107/patrick-dempsey-bridget-jones/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ca8740374a2328/6988548fcd1bba78ce6fbd08/patrick-dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ca8740374a2328/6988548fcd1bba78ce6fbd08/patrick-dempsey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Patrick Dempsey","caption":"Patrick Dempsey","creditText":"Paul Archuleta — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4029107/patrick-dempsey-bridget-jones/","name":"Patrick Dempsey Could Be the New Star of Bridget Jones 3"}}]}] ```