From the moment he sits down among the buttoned-up, health-obsessed power players at a bustling Brentwood sushi joint and orders a round of champagne, it's clear Patrick Dempsey is a bit of a throwback. Rarely since the heyday of Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, who provided the inspiration for the photos here — shot for EW by James White — has a leading man brought this kind of old-school relish to the spoils of his success.

Dempsey is finally at the center of his own Hollywood fairy tale, thanks to the McDreaminess of Grey's Anatomy's Dr. Derek Shepherd. Now, as if to make his status official, the actor is about to appear on the big screen as — what else? — Prince Charming.