Dempsey's metamorphosis from McDorky to McDreamy didn't really get under way until 1999. ''I went and did other things, like starting a relationship that was loving and nurturing,'' says Dempsey of his marriage to makeup artist Jillian Fink. It wasn't long after that he started racing cars, and facing those dangerous curves in front of huge crowds had some unexpected benefits for his acting. ''Bad things can happen in cars...so you have to block out everything around you and focus. It's the same thing when you're doing a close-up. Now I don't worry about [acting] as much.''