LOS ANGELES?Being married to McDreamy himself apparently does not mean that Jillian Fink does not dream of other men.

In a recent press con, Patrick Dempsey was asked if his wife has fantasies?perhaps of Brad Pitt? ?Not Brad Pitt,? said the star of the romantic-comedy ?Made of Honor.? With a smile, he revealed, ?She likes Johnny Depp. Yeah, I?m a little jealous of Johnny Depp. No, he?s a great guy. She?s a good sport about it all. She stirs it up, too. And then I get jealous, which is even better.?

When a reporter inquired if Jill, a top make-up artist, has met Johnny, Patrick answered, ?She?s done his hair and make-up.?

Patrick himself looked like he also went through his wife?s grooming ministrations. Maybe not. ?I rode my bike here today,? he said. ?I wore my spandex suit.? ?Here? is the Four Seasons Hotel, in a meeting room transformed into a wedding party locale, complete with flower arches and all, in keeping with the theme of ?Made of Honor.? McDreamy shucked the spandex and put on a dark suit, looking like a Versace model. He was, in fact, in a Versace. ?I?m wearing one now,? he declared. ?I?ve always worn their suits.? And he is indeed the face of Versace for its spring/summer 2008 men?s ad campaign.

?I want to give up acting and just model,? he quipped to the reporters? laughter. ?It?s so much easier. No, I?m kidding. Donatella Versace is an incredible woman. She?s wonderful to work with. Their clothes are beautiful and well-made.?

?It?s been a wild ride,? he said and then deadpanned, ?It?s been great being a supermodel. I love it.?

Putting on suits by the top Italian fashion house and pouting for the camera for stylish ads was one of the things he got to do during the lull in filming his hit TV series, ?Grey?s Anatomy,? as a result of the writers? strike.

Prompted to recite the things he did while ?Grey?s?? went on hibernation, he complied with: ?I had fun being a Versace model. I did a lot of car racing. I worked on developing some material for the future. I spent time with my family and we went on vacation. I actually got a lot of work done. It was nice to have some time off and have some fresh perspective on the show. I worked for three years straight so it was good to have a break to recharge.?

Aside from performing his ?supermodel? duties, Patrick is coming out with a cologne for Avon in the coming fall. ?I?ve had a great time developing the scent or the ?juice? as they call it,? he said.

So is he the new Avon, er, Gent? ?No, no, no,? he laughed. Then he mimicked an Avon Lady?s trademark home sales call greeting: ?Avon calling?can I come in?? After the journalists? chuckles subsided, he clarified, ?I think there?s a misconception there. I was brought in to develop a fragrance that?s going to carry my name and I have a lot of say in what the scent is.?

Playboy character

In ?Made of Honor,? which comes on the heels of the hit, ?Enchanted,? where he won more fans, Patrick plays Tom, a philanderer whose fear of commitment and refusal to admit the obvious?that he is in love with his best friend, Hannah (Michelle Monaghan)?leads to complications. When she is swept off her feet by a rich Scotsman (Kevin McKidd), she asks Tom to be her ?maid? of honor at her Scottish wedding. Tom agrees so he can sabotage the wedding from within. This is a romantic comedy, a genre where Patrick is ascending as the king, so he?s bound to win more followers.

?I?m much more into long relationships,? Patrick answered when asked if he identified with his serial dater character. ?I could never be a player like that. I don?t think I could. My character, on the other hand, obviously has issues?why he would not be involved with her (Michelle?s character), why he does not like marriage?which are rooted in his relationship with his father.?

The father was played by Sydney Pollack, the award-winning director (?Out of Africa,? ?Tootsie?) and actor, who was ill at the time of this interview. Sydney died last May 26. ?I hear he?s been very sick,? Patrick said somberly. ?He was really wonderful and very funny. When we were talking about who could play the father and Sydney?s name came up, I said, ?It would be so great to be able to work with him.? My scenes with him were some of my favorites because of our interaction. He brought so much weight to the scenes. It was great to have a moment onscreen with him.?

Returning to the topic of his character in ?Made of Honor,? Patrick emphasized, ?McDreamy and the guy that I played in ?Enchanted? are perfect guys. This guy in this movie is not.?

He stressed, ?My character in this movie is very different from me. It was fun to play this playboy guy, driving around in the Jag, riding horses. I?ve never been to Scotland before so it was a great opportunity to go over there and work. When I saw the movie for the first time, I thought, oh my goodness, look what my character is doing and he?s getting away with it.?

Patrick also volunteered that unlike his character, he?d know right away if he has fallen for a woman. ?I always recognize it immediately,? he admitted.

Art of flirting

When a female reporter brought up the ?lost art of flirting,? he gamely said, ?I?m still working on that. I haven?t given that up.? When she lamented that there?s less flirting going on these days because of fears of being charged with sexual harassment, Patrick explained, ?It really depends on how one presents the compliment or the flirtation. There?s a line that you obviously can?t cross. If you?re okay with me flirting with you and I?m okay with you flirting with me, it?s okay.?

?We are flirting right now,? teased the reporter. Patrick smiled and countered, ?I know and I don?t feel sexually harassed.? When she replied, ?So don?t sue me,? he promised, ?I won?t? and then teased back, ?My lawyer?s going to call you later, though.?

When another lady journalist started by asking him to comment on her observation that while there are many nice girls around, some men seem to like? ?The naughty girls,? he finished the reporter?s sentence. With his eyes smiling, he quipped, ?It?s good to have a nice girl who?s naughty.?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.