Happy birthday, Patrick Dempsey!
Long before he charmed "Grey's Anatomy" viewers as Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd, the actor accomplished a different kind of feat.
In a 1990 TODAY interview, the chiseled star told Bryant Gumbel how a gift for juggling led him to win a national talent competition — which prompted his entry into show business.
"It just sort of happened," the Lewiston, Maine, native explained. "I sort of was into ski racing, and then I learned how to ride the unicycle."
"And this guy Paul McKinney taught me how to juggle," Dempsey continued. "And I started going to Portland, Maine, to this agent there and I said, can I do commercials?"
"I tried out for this thing called Talent America, and I ended up winning, coming to New York and I met this agent, Davina Wells. And she helped me get going."
Dempsey, of course, went on to roles in theater, TV and film — at the time, he was promoting the 1990 flick "Coupe de Ville."
But when Gumbel asked what was next for the budding star, Dempsey joked, "Back to Lewiston. Bought a house there — moving back home."
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Dempsey, who turns 50 Wednesday, left "Grey's Anatomy" in 2015, but fortunately for his fans, he'll grace the big screen in 2016.
In "Bridget Jones's Baby," Dempsey plays Jack Qwant, a "handsome billionaire" who may or may not be the father of the title heroine's child.
"It's completely reinvigorated me," Dempsey said of the movie in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I've enjoyed it immensely, getting back to something that has a beginning, middle, and end. It's just a completely different approach. With 'Grey's,' you're just grinding it out. In this instance, you take the time to get through things."