Patrick Dempsey Says It Took 6 Hours to Dye His Hair Platinum Blonde: 'I Don't Know How Women Do It'

Patrick Dempsey was in for a wild ride when he bleached his hair for Ferrari.

The Grey's Anatomy alum had to take his naturally dark locks to an icy white-blonde color to play race car driver Piero Taruffi for his upcoming film. During a Nov. 17 visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he told host Jimmy Kimmel that it was a rigorous process to change his hair — and he was absolutely not expecting any of the events that transpired.

"It wasn't supposed to be that white initially," Dempsey, 56, told Kimmel when the late-night host showed the audience a picture of the actor's hair at a Disney event.

After saying that Taruffi is a "silver fox" but that he was hesitant during the dye job, Dempsey got really honest when Kimmel asked if he freaked out at all during the process. He did. But he called on his wife, Jillian Dempsey, for guidance.

"I was constantly texting my wife," he said with a laugh. "I was like, is this the right direction we're going in? Because it was yellow. And she's like, no it needs a toner, it needs other things, and I'm like, OK, well let me talk to the hair people."

Dempsey said it took a "considerable amount of time to do" his hair, totaling about six hours when all was said and done. He joked that a bleach job is like "frying your skull," adding that your scalp is practically "peeling off by the end of it."

"I don't know how women — people — do it," he finished.

His look has garnered mixed reactions, the actor admitted, though he told Kimmel that he got a lot of positive feedback on it.

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He told Variety in September at the Disney event — where he was honored as a Disney Legend — that he actually does like the blond color but he knows he can't keep it.

"I love it, it's great. It's fun to do something different. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I'm known for my hair. So, this has really jacked up a lot of people, they don't know how to embrace it. Either they love it or they hate it," he shared.

"I like it. Dye your hair, have fun. Blonds have more fun, I have to tell you, it's true," Dempsey said, adding: "I'm in Italy, driving race cars. So, I can't complain.

Starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, the biopic from writer/director Michael Mann follows the Italian racer and entrepreneur's life in 1957 as he dealt with family woes while preparing for the Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) race through Italy.

The movie also features Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Jack O'Connell and Gabriel Leone.