Patrick Dempsey had big dreams before he decided on acting, and they’re VERY surprising

From saving his marriage to pursuing new roles, Patrick Dempsey has been busy since his days as our favorite doctor. Though he looks back fondly on his days as the beloved McDreamy, it turns out that Dempsey’s got a secret passion that he hasn’t yet made reality. He wants to perform…in the circus. Wait, waa?

According to a chat with Entertainment Weekly, Dempsey has always been passionate about performance in a broad scope.

“I did a juggling routine when I was 15 and that’s actually how I made a living, he told EW. “I did birthday parties on weekends. So I started off in old school vaudeville actually.

It turns out that Dempsey doesn’t just enjoy working on films and television. Which, TBH, makes sense. While there’s obviously differences between acting and clowning, performance is performance at heart, right? Plus, the thought of a young Dempsey juggling is literally SO CUTE.

“My shop teacher was in this vaudeville group and, to entertain the students, he started teaching people how to juggle, and that’s how it started," he said. 

Like, aw. That’s actually so cool, and now we know yet another fun fact about the talent-filled Dempsey!

Dempsey even attempted to make the dream a reality.

“I signed up to try and get into Ringling Brothers, he explained, but, unfortunately, he didn't make the cut. 

While we’re sure that was a bummer, we’re secretly VERY relieved things didn’t work out — the world may never have known McDreamy if Dempsey was running around in a circus (the horror!).

Besides, there’s still time for him to live out his juggling dreams!