Despite being one of the more powerful superheroes in the Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange – otherwise known as The Sorcerer Supreme – is definitely one of the lesser known comic book characters, at least to the general public.

Still, Strange has his share of devoted fans, including Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey (who also has a role in the upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon). According to Dempsey, he has been lobbying for the titular role in any Dr. Strange film or TV show.

For those unaware, Doctor Stephen Strange used to be a world-renowned and utterly arrogant neurosurgeon who cared more about making money than saving lives. After a car accident irrevocably ruined his hands for performing surgery, Strange wandered the Earth looking for a cure for his condition – although I’m pretty sure messed-up hands is not a “disease” that can be “cured” – and sort of fell into the job of Sorcerer Supreme when he selflessly saved the life of The Ancient One.

So the most important attributes to remember about Doctor Strange are: He’s a sorcerer that used to be an M.D., he has dark hair that’s graying around the temples, and he has a mustache-goatee combo. Since Patrick Dempsey plays an M.D. on television, has dark hair with strands of gray, and possesses the ability to grow facial hair, some believe he’d make an okay choice for a Dr. Strange adaptation.

Patrick Dempsey in Doctor Strange Movie?

According to Dempsey, courtesy of Hero Complex:

“I’ve been lobbying [to play Dr. Strange]. There’s a whole bunch of people [on the Grey’s Anatomy crew] who are into comics and Marvel, too, on the set and they’re like, ‘Doctor Strange, that’s the one you should do.’ It would be fantastic. It’d be a great TV show, especially for HBO or something like that. I don’t know if I’d necessarily do another show, a drama, that’s 24 episodes again. HBO you’re at 13 and I think that’s much better. It’s just so hard to sustain the quality after three years if you’re doing 24, 25 episodes a year. It all depends on who you have as a writing team — it’s how you set it up, what’s the tone and making sure you’re not locked into this one-season success [mentality], you can’t be afraid to think beyond that.”

Last year, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige talked about several properties he’d like to see adapted to the big screen – Iron Fist, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange – and Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Conan) were hired to write a screenplay for Strange.

When asked if Feige knew about Patrick Dempsey’s desire to play the mystical doctor, Dempsey said:

“He knows what’s going on. There was stuff going on. At Comic-Con they were talking about me playing it and there was a rumor that I’d been cast. I mean, it’s something that’s kind of out there and, you know, I’ve been looking at that. It would be a fun one to do. Hopefully, doing something like ‘Transformers’ is about to show myself in an action situation where I’m not mister-weepy-doctor guy, you know, not McDreamy. You have to change that in people’s view. I’m still hungry for other things. I’d love to play Doctor Strange.”

Artist Arne Starr Draws Patrick Dempsey as the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange

Artist rendering of Patrick Dempsey as Doctor Strange, by Arne Starr

Even though Grey’s Anatomy isn't as much of a draw as it used to be, Patrick Dempsey is a likable actor. Frankly, I think he’s a bit too “pretty,” for lack of a better word, for the role of Doctor Strange, but whoever ends up making this film (or TV show) could certainly do far worse. That said, my top choice goes to Liam Neeson, as it does for 75% of movie roles. Sorry, Dempsey.

What do you think? Is Patrick Dempsey a good choice for Doctor Strange or would you prefer to see someone else take on the role? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Hero Complex