“That’s not Patrick Duffy.”

Most fans know it Jodi Benson for her prolific voice work, led by her iconic role as Ariel The Little Mermaid. However, in 2007, Disney managed to integrate her into the world of live-action actresses Enchantedthe popular musical fantasy comedy homage to classic princess films from Maus. Her first on-screen appearance was an admittedly small role, but placed her in a star-studded cast that included: Amy Adams, James MarsdenAnd Patrick Dempsey at its peak Grey’s Anatomy Fame. The meeting with “McDreamy” also produced a hilarious, heartwarming story that Benson was able to share with fans at a panel discussion at Fan Expo San Francisco hosted by Collider’s Taylor Gates.

Enchanted Dempsey stars as Robert, a cynical, down-in-the-mud divorce lawyer who doesn’t believe in fairy tales or true love, and meets Giselle (Adams), a real-life princess from a magical kingdom who has been banished to the Land of Never Happy Afters,” also known as New York City. As Giselle looks for a way back to her home and back to her Prince Edward (Marsden), Robert gives her a place to stay and slowly becomes friendlier to her as they spend time together. All the while, Edward’s evil stepmother Narissa (Susan Sarandon) tries to put the princess into an eternal sleep. Amidst the modernized adventure straight out of a storybook, Benson works as Sam, the secretary at Churchill, Harline & Smith who is tasked by Robert with arranging a return home for Giselle.

One of the reasons Benson got involved in the project was because of the filmmaker behind it, but she was skeptical at first. “So I got a call to fly from Georgia to New York to be in the live action, which of course I never did,” she said. “So I was like, ‘Really? Will this be okay because I don’t know what I’m doing, you know, so this could be a disaster.’ But Kevin Lima was the director of it and he’s one of my animators for it The Little Mermaid.” Also known as a helmsman A silly film and co-director TarzanLima helped allay Benson’s fears. However, nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen due to an awkward, unexpected mix-up between Dempsey and a certain star from the 1978 drama series Dallas. She told the audience at Fan Expo:

“And he says, ‘No, no, it’s going to be super fun! It’s going to be really fun, and you’re going to do it with…’ You know, I’ve already forgotten his name, Patrick Dempsey.” And I’m like, “Oh, okay, cool,” so I think I’ll meet the Dallas star. Patrick Duffy. So I don’t know who Patrick Dempsey is, but I was thinking that I work with Patrick Duffy and I love Dallas. So I’m in this beautiful building, glass, beautiful building. And I’m on the main level, where my little desk was for me as Sam, and I’m on set learning what to do. And the door opens and this gentleman comes in, and I’m like, “…God, this is.” not Patrick Duffy.’ I think Patrick Duffy is over six feet tall. This gentleman comes along and says, “Hello, I’m Patrick Dempsey.” I say, “Oh.” Nice to meet you!’ And I mean, it wasn’t that I was disappointed, it was just that I was like, ‘That’s definitely not Patrick Duffy.'”

Benson got the full McDreamy experience on Enchanted

After the shock to their expectations EnchantedBenson got to work with her new co-star, who was definitely not from the US Dallas. Yet she never really understood how popular she was Grey’s Anatomy and “McDreamy” were back then. “So we kind of talked and got to know each other, and I didn’t know who he was, and I didn’t know he was part of this angry show…what’s the name of the show?” she asked before Gates chimed in. She quickly became aware of Dempsey’s loyal followinghowever, when they began filming a scene in Robert’s law office building. She recalled that all the fans were watching the set closely, which prompted Dempsey to make an awkward explanation about what exactly was happening and who he was. She continued:

“So we’re in this glass building in New York City, and it’s, I don’t know, like 35 stories high. And I look up and all these people have their faces pressed against the glass.” I’m staring down about 30 stories and I’m like, “What’s going on?” And so I walk up to him and I’m like, “What’s going on? Why are they part of our scene and why are they staring at us?” He says, “Well, you know… my name’s kind of McDreamy.” I thought, “You’re a what?” He says, “Well, me “I’m kind of on this show and they’re kind of fans,” and I’m like, “Oh, that’s cool, but they’re kind of fans too in our scenes.” Anyway, that’s how it went for me. Obviously I didn’t know what I was doing.

In the end, Benson found her time with Dempsey rewarding and extremely helpful in her first foray into live-action. “And yes, I had a lot of fun, but he was lovely. He was so kind, so gracious, taught me what to do in a film and yes, we had a lot of fun.” Unfortunately, Sam would not be returning for the 2022 sequel Disillusioned when Robert moved his practice to Monroeville when he moved from Manhattan with Giselle. However, Benson has since made another live-action appearance, in 2023 The Little Mermaid Remake in a cameo role as a street vendor meeting Halle BaileyThis is Ariel.

Enchanted can be streamed on Disney+.

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Enchanted

Release date

November 21, 2007

director

Kevin Lima

Duration

107 minutes

Watch on Disney+