Patrick Dempsey: Leaving Grey's Anatomy after 8 seasons [PHOTOS]

Actor Patrick Dempsey told Italian Vanity Fair that he plans to check out of Seattle Grace hospital and that Grey's Anatomy upcoming eighth season is gonna be my last.

I do not know what's going to happen to the other characters, but for me it's done, he said.

The actor called the decisions bittersweet because it's been a great part of my life. But I can't see me doing it anymore, he said of Grey's Anatomy.

According to UsMagazine.com, Dempsey's rep tried downplaying the statement.

He was referring to the fact that his contract is up at the end of next season and we have no idea what the future holds, his rep told the magazine.

Ellen Pompeo, who co-stars and plays Dempsey's wife on the show, is rumored to be leaving as her contract is also expiring.

We're heading toward the future of the show and eventually, unless we are extremely lucky, everybody's going to go, creator Shonda Rimes said of the show continuing without its big stars. A lot of shows don't make it because they don't know how to transition.

Up next for Dempsey is a role in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He also said he'd really like to play Marvel superhero Dr. Strange in a film adaptation.

I've been lobbying for that, he previous told the Los Angeles Times. There's a whole bunch of people [among the Grey's Anatomy crew] who are into comics and Marvel, too, on the set, and they're like, 'Doctor Strange, that's the one you should do' It would be fantastic. It'd be a great TV show, especially for HBO or something like that, he said.