21 Little Known Details About Grey's Anatomy's Derek Shepherd

It's been a hit medical drama for the better part of this century and it shows no sign of slowing down in the near future. When Shonda Rhimes created Grey's Anatomy, a medical drama following the life of then-surgical intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her surrounding colleagues/friends/loves, she had no idea that the show would end up lasting 15 seasons. It was sort of touch and go there after Rhimes decided that it was time to part with one of the show's biggest heartthrobs: Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey).

The show basically revolved around Meredith and Derek's love story for a majority of the seasons - their break-ups, their make-ups, their growing family… their break-ups again. All of it proved to be the pulse of the show, so when his sudden death came about in Season 11 of the show, fans were both shocked and devastated. Especially since there were rumors floating around that Dempsey was getting ready to sign another two-year contract.

But, alas, like the majority of main characters on the show, Shepherd's farewell was both brutal and heart-wrenching, but in the end, made Meredith a much stronger figure. Here we highlight 21 things that even the most dedicated fans didn't know about both the character and the actor who played him.

21 Show Creator Shonda Rhimes Was Thinking About Separating Derek And Meredith

This was sad but true. But she was only briefly thinking about it. Because the couple was basically the pulse of the show, she knew that she couldn't end up separating them. After the episode in Season 11 where Derek was involved in a fatal car crash, Shonda actually spoke to the Television Critics Association about the death. She believed that it needed to be done in order for “Meredith and his love to stay true forever,” as she put it. “To me, that was the only way to make Meredith and Derek's magic remain frozen in time.” She is right, you know.

20 There's A Huge Reason Why Sister Amelia Was So Mad At Meredith For Not Letting Her Say Goodbye

Foreshadowing! Shonda always seems to find a way to foreshadow some spectacular event in the series (remember how she revealed that Ellis Grey, Meredith's mom, had a secret child with Dr. Richard Webber? Woman is a genius). In Season 1, Episode 2, Meredith was trying to get Derek to open up about his private life (something she knew nothing about) and he said “I have four sisters. If I were in a coma, they'd all be here. I'd want them here.” Thing is, that happened after the car accident, and Meredith pulled the plug instead of calling up his family. This is why sister Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) was so angry with Meredith after the entire horrific event.

19 He Was Almost The Father Of A Teenage Girl

This might be the strangest thing that fans have ever read when it came to “what could have been” in terms of the show. Apparently, Shepherd was actually supposed to have a teenage daughter! Shonda revealed at a Master Class she was teaching to aspiring writers and filmmakers, that Derek was originally going to have a child who actually convinced him to take a job at Seattle Grace Hospital. “This is his chance to make up for all the mistakes he made with her when she was younger,” she had said. “It's going to be far more difficult than he bargained for.” Really glad she didn't decide to go for that storyline.

18 Can You Picture Dr. Shepherd As… Dr. House?

Even in our wildest dreams, this one seems pretty dang hard to picture. Okay, so he wasn't really supposed to be the ACTUAL Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), but Dempsey DID audition for the role of Robert Chase on the Fox medical drama (the role actually went to actor Jesse Spencer, who has that pitch-perfect Australian accent that was so suited for Chase). He auditioned for the role in the same year he landed the part as Shepherd and thankfully, he chose wisely and decided to give Seattle Grace a shot, otherwise both shows would have ended up vastly different.

17 … . Or As Any Actor Other Than Patrick Dempsey?

Man, if Dempsey had ended up taking a role on House that means someone else would have ended up playing Dr. McDreamy in Grey's and that is something that NO ONE could ever imagine. But it was a close call. Turns out, actor Rob Lowe was originally offered the part of Derek Shepherd and he ended up making a massive mistake when he turned down the role because he figured that “ABC dramas usually flopped.” Wow, that's a big mistake. He ended up starring in a CBS drama called Dr. Vegas, which only lasted 5 measly episodes. It all worked out in the end since Dempsey was clearly the right man for the job.

16 The Actors Weren't In On One Major Plot Twist With Derek and Meredith

It's always amusing when we hear about actors who aren't in on major plot twists in the shows they star in and only figure it out during A) a final table reading or B) during the actual filming. Well, one such thing happened on the set of Grey's. When Meredith and Derek started dating in the first season, both Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey were in for a massive surprise during the first season finale of the show - that Dr. Shepherd was actually married. They weren't let in on the secret until the table reading of the finale (actually, they found it out both separately - Dempsey was in on the secret before Pompeo, which explains her genuine look of surprise when Dr. Addison Shepherd [Kate Walsh] showed up). Made for excellent drama.

15 A Lot Of His Cases Were Based On Real Life Cases

It shouldn't shock fans that a lot of the cases that the doctors at Seattle Grace (now the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital) handle are actually real cases. Thankfully, in real life, some of the cases had much happier endings than the fatal ones on the show itself. This is thanks to Chief of Neurosurgery Steven Giannotta at USC's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles who has been working as a consultant on the show since it started. He even spoke about a case Shepherd was working on. “They had a very sympathetic character with a bad tumor in a bad place and wanted Shepherd to operate,” he said. “My wife was watching the show the night it aired and as I headed for bed, I said, 'that's my patient.' The next morning she confronted me with, 'Hey, McDreamy, your patient died on TV last night.' Luckily, in real life, my patient who inspired the story lived.”

14 Can You Imagine Grey's Without Patrick and Ellen's Pairing? Well, It Almost Happened

It's impossible to even attempt to imagine Grey's without the famous Meredith/Derek love story, played by the actors we know and love. But get this: Isaiah Washington, the actor who eventually played Dr. Preston Burke, actually auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd. As we know, he lost the part to Dempsey, but the show called when the actor they originally hired to play Burke actually dropped out. And thankfully he decided to take the famous part that paired him up with Sandra Oh, the actress who played the super talented Cristina Yang. It's funny how sometimes fate works out for the best.

13 That Post-It Actually Exists Thanks To Patrick Dempsey

Now, this is a romantic little tidbit that seems to sum up the chemistry both actors had for each other. You remember the Post-It note where Derek and Meredith wrote down their vows and then referred to their wedding as “getting married on a post-it note?” Well, it turns out that Dempsey actually did write down everything that the two said on a notepad. The post-it note actually exists and is on display when you tour the studio. In the show, it hangs above Meredith's bed so all fans can see it and cry their eyes out while remembering the heartwarming moment between the two.

12 Did Meredith Foreshadow Derek's Car Accident In Earlier Shows?

Again with the foreshadowing (you're the perfect diabolical genius, Shonda). However, this one is more disturbing than the rest. During old episodes, Meredith has dreams where Derek is offed in a car accident of sorts. During Season Five, she has one where Derek is hit by a vehicle and he tells her to “stay here, wait for me” - his very last words to his wife before he leaves for DC (when he's in the actual accident). Shonda likes to tug on all our heartstrings and that may be the actual most gut-wrenching. It just hurts too much to think about!

11 McDreamy Was A Thing Before Dr. Shepherd Made It One

This one is a charming tidbit: turns out that Patrick Dempsey earned the nickname “McDreamy” before Dr. McDreamy became, well, Dr. McDreamy. Back in 2006, Shonda was discussing shooting the pilot episode of Grey's with Oprah Winfrey and she let it be known that it Patrick was given the nickname behind the cameras. “When we were shooting the pilot, Patrick was seriously the most adorable man we'd ever seen on camera,” the creator said. “We'd watch the monitor and think, 'Look at his dreamy eyes!' So we started to call him Patrick McDreamy, and it stuck.” You have to admit that that's pretty dang cute.

10 Shepherd Was Not Really The White Knight Everyone Made Him Out To Be

Anyone who is a religious follower of the show knows that Derek Shepherd was really no saint (even though everybody considered him one after his character was written off the show). He constantly yo-yoed Meredith at the beginning of their relationship, chose his wife over her (then, uh, had an affair with Meredith while still with his wife), and would basically be condescending of Meredith whenever he was acting like a little baby. Fortunately, he seemed to ease up (a little) when his children came along. Both weren't exactly saints and would constantly put their work ahead of each other and then get mad when it didn't work out. Sigh. We suppose no couple is perfect.

9 Chemistry Between Dr. Addison Shepherd And Derek Landed Kate Walsh More Screen Time

Did you know that actress Kate Walsh was actually only supposed to be on Grey's temporarily? It actually hurts a little bit to think that Addison Shepherd was only hired for a short period of time. But thanks to Walsh's amazing personality and her chemistry with Dempsey, Addison became a regular character on the show. Walsh was even so beloved that she was able to land her own series with her character called Private Practice. You can't really hate on Addison since she was written so beautifully in the series - even Meredith herself was angry that she couldn't find a reason to hate the gorgeous and intelligent pediatric surgeon. And who can really blame her?

8 Sometimes, Those Aren't Really Derek's Hands You're Seeing During Surgery

Back when the series started in 2005, it was revealed that it takes a lot of people in order to make the fake surgeries look actually real when filming scenes. Not only do they bring on registered nurses in (to make sure everything look accurate), but even some of their extras are actual nurses. Another thing you may have never known? That the hands you actually see during the some of the surgery scenes are of actual surgeons. That's right. Whenever you see Derek Shepherd performing a difficult surgery, those aren't really his hands going to work - it's the hands of a real-life medical professional. Shonda wanted to make sure EVERYTHING went smoothly when it came to her show.

7 So, Addison And Derek Should Have Ended Up Together? According To One Actress - Yes

Okay, so yes, all fans absolutely adored Addison Montgomery Shepherd on the show despite their best efforts and love for Meredith, but why is that? Could it be because both Kate Walsh and Patrick Dempsey had such great chemistry (uh… duh)? Kate even thought so and she made it known once that she believes that both Derek and Addison should have ended up together instead of Meredith and Derek. KATE WALSH EVEN THOUGHT SO AND VOICED IT. The thing is, the love between Mere and Dere was such a dang force of nature that nothing could survive it but those two. The chemistry was perfect, the actors were perfect, ugh it just hurts so much if you think about it.

6 Being Terrified Of The Boss Actually Pays Off

In real life, show creator Shonda Rhimes is a creative genius and seriously brilliant - so much so that, yes, some actors and actresses tend to be intimidated by her. Dempsey was one of them. When he first auditioned for the role of Dr. Shepherd, he revealed that he was straight up scared by his future boss. He even thought that he didn't get the part because she didn't like him. “At first I thought (show creator) Shonda Rhimes hated me, but she was calculating in her head where to put me and what I'd be right for.” Luckily for all of us, she cast him as McDreamy.

5 His Ego Was Always Massive - Until The End

McDreamy was always hot-headed (yes, we already talked about it) but in the final episodes leading up to his ultimate demise, he finally was able to give Meredith what she wanted and deserved - himself. His ego always took up most of the space in the room, but when he finally realized that his family came before his giant, wall-to-wall ego, it was a beautiful moment. He finally gave up his life in D.C. (you know, after his lab assistant or whoever he was attempted to hit on him, sending Meredith into a tailspin) and was ready to come home to be with his wife and children… okay, we may still be in mourning, but can you really blame us?

4 Even In The End, He Stood By His Wife

Throughout the years, Derek always seemed to criticize his own wife and the love of his life. From their Alzheimer's trial, to even when they would pair up on basic surgeries together, Derek always seemed to like to be condescending of Meredith in some pretty odd ways when it came to her surgical skills. But not in the end. Nope. In the appropriately titled episode “How To Save A Life,” after Derek is involved in the tragic car accident, inside his own mind, he starts criticizing the actions of the neurosurgeons that are attempting to save his life (he believes they aren't properly trained, and he's right). When Meredith goes over the paperwork, she notes that the doctors attempting to save him should have ordered a CT head scan, and Derek confirms. He calls her intelligent. It's a somber moment.

3 Shepherd Always Went Big When It Came To Meredith

Despite all his egotistical qualities, Derek ALWAYS went massively big when it came to Meredith. And we mean HUGE. Remember when he actually went off on Alice Grey (Meredith's mom played by Kate Burton) on her deathbed when she called Meredith “ordinary?” Or when he caught Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), the very man who had an affair with his own wife, HITTING on Meredith and took him down? While all those were pretty big moments, what about the one where he finally proposed to Meredith in the elevator? The elevator walls were covered in MRI pictures of all the patients they helped save together. Okay, if that doesn't make you teary-eyed then nothing does.

2 His Love For Ferry Boats Was Unwavering, Even After The Car Crash

If you're a fan of Grey's, you know of Derek Shepherd's undying love for ferryboats. Of course, being in Seattle, this is a given (you know, if you're not afraid of water or the ocean or anything) but when it comes to Derek, he was massively obsessed with them. Take his scrub-cap for instance - it has an assortment of ferryboats on it. After he passed away, Meredith actually started wearing it whenever she would perform a surgery (eagle-eyed viewers would understand and see that) but one of the biggest ferryboat moments had to come when Derek left one final voicemail for sister Amelia on his last day alive. He told her that they need to spend more time together as a family (and, of course, mentioned his love for ferryboats in the voicemail).

1 He Will Always Be Our Favorite “Guy Across The Bar”

“You were the girl across the bar? I was the girl across the bar,” Meredith famously said to Derek after her sister Lexie (Chyler Leigh) announces that she met Derek in a bar before she knew Meredith was even with him. But to us, Derek will always be our favorite “guy across the bar” when it comes to his and Meredith's epic love story. That's where they met, that's where they fell in love, that's where so many important things happened in their lives. Given, a bar isn't the IDEAL please for a love story to form, but it worked ten-fold for both Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd.