TAG Heuer took note of Dempsey’s changing role from TV to movies along with his interest in racing cars and invited him in 2014 to be the brand’s global ambassador. It is a role Dempsey associates closely with, he says. “I was excited to be part of a brand that sponsors a race team. I think [it was because of] the history of the brand and its association with Le Mans, and certainly [Steve] McQueen. Also, the image of the Monaco watch and, you know, it was through motor sports that it really became such an iconic brand. It’s also one of the first big sponsors in motor sports. So, for me, it was like a perfect partnership.” In June, Dempsey (through the Dempsey Racing Team, which he founded in 2006 with TAG Heuer as sponsor) took part in the gruelling Le Mans 24-hour race that is usually held in France. The team, racing in the Porsche 911 RSR, finished sixth in the annual event. We cannot help but draw parallels between Dempsey and McQueen — both actors, with a love of racing and TAG Heuer ambassadors. While McQueen acted in the 1970 cult movie Le Mans, wearing the square-dial Heuer Monaco on his wrist, he never actually took part in the race. Dempsey says, “Well, I think it’s hard to compare myself to McQueen. He’s such an iconic character and a person who [knew who he was]. It’s nice to be mentioned alongside him. I’m very proud of the fact that I got a chance to race at Le Mans and was able to take the podium. He never did it. He didn’t get a chance to race there. He did make a movie [though] and it’s nice to be a part of that. Certainly, it’s nice to be a part of the history.” Dempsey has always kept his cool, whether over tabloid stories or during races. He embodies TAG Heuer’s tag line — Don’t Crack Under Pressure — and identifies with it. A case in point is the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Fuji race in Japan in 2015, for which he raced the final part for the Dempsey Proton Racing team to finish first. He elaborates, “One [aspect] that really is in context with [the tag line] and certainly within racing is when we won in Japan and improved at the podium [compared with our performance in] Le Mans. There was a lot of pressure because we were leading the race. I had to finish my stint and it was the last one before the end of the race and I had just remembered that it was my race to lose if I didn’t keep it together. I realised that and breathed and got the job done.”
Dempsey’s first brush with TAG Heuer began as a child. He recalls that he was seven or eight years old when he noticed the TAG Heuer logo on his Matchbox cars. In a recent Architectural Digest interview, the actor said he grew up in Maine, right next to Route 4. His dad used to race cars and would bring home a Matchbox car for Dempsey once a week. Fast forward to few years ago. Dempsey bought a 1972 Monaco TAG Heuer vintage watch, which he still wears on a regular basis — clearly, he has always been a fan of the brand. The actor has had a long career in Hollywood, beginning in the 1980s with movies such as Heaven Help Us opposite Andrew McCarthy. In the 1990s and the noughties, his roles were meatier. We remember him in Face the Music with Molly Ringwald and 2002’s Sweet Home Alabama, one of his most memorable rom-com roles, opposite Reese Witherspoon. His other notable movies include Enchanted (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Valentine’s Day (2010) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016).
Options: TAG Heuer
Dempsey: Dream come true
Speed: Slow
Time: Not enough
Family: Everything
Dream timepieces
You do not have to be a Hollywood star nor drive race cars to be able to own one of these TAG Heuer timepieces. Here are two you might want to consider.

TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper, official watch and team performance partner of the Red Bull racing car since 2016. What is not to like about this chronograph beauty in steel with its eye-catching 45mm diameter that highlights the colours of midnight blue and red — the team’s official colours. On the dial, you notice the three counters: chronograph minute counter at 12 o’clock with snailed ring and red lacquered hand; chronograph hour counter at 6 o’clock with snailed ring and red lacquered hand; and small seconds counter at 9 o’clock with snailed ring and polished, rhodium-plated hand. Look behind and you can admire the Calibre Heuer-01 Automatic Manufacture Chronograph movement through the blue skeleton dial and sapphire caseback, bearing the Red Bull Racing Team’s logo. The bracelet H-link steel bracelet or blue leather and black rubber strap with a racing car-seat effect and steel deployment buckle with safety pushbuttons and TAG Heuer logo round off the look. Autavia
