10 Denny Duquette Quotes That Made Us Laugh & Cry
Denny Duquette (Dean Morgan) was an unforgettable supporting character in Grey's Anatomy, and his quotes remain iconic to this day.
The past 16 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy have been a rollercoaster of emotions. There has been death and life, love and heartbreak, joy and grief, as the popular medical drama leaped from one difficult topic to the next. When a series goes on for this many years, characters come and go, but some stand out.
Denny Duquette, played to perfection by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is one of the early examples of a side character that genuinely tugged at viewers' heartstrings. The relationship between the dying heart patient and Izzie Stevens may have been unprofessional, but it was pure, and fans fell in love with Denny just as fast and just as hard as Izzie did.
10 “Life Is Too Damn Short To Be Following The Rules”
A long term patient of Dr. Burke, Denny has been through hell since his diagnosis with viral cardiomyopathy - an ailment that regularly causes his heart to fail.
Kindhearted and happy-go-lucky, Denny still knows when to be serious, and he makes it clear to Meredith that he is serious about his feelings for Izzie. It doesn't matter to him that she's a doctor and he's a patient. Life is just too short to miss out on a good thing.
9 “How Am I Supposed To Get In Your Pants If You Took A Vow Of Celibacy?”
Denny doesn't tread the line of an appropriate rapport between doctor and patient. He jumps straight over that line and then kicks the front door of the building down for good measure.
The first time that he meets Izzie, he jokes about his star sign and his hobbies like something out of a cheesy dating profile, and the playful flirtation only gets bolder from there. He isn't shy about his intentions, and Izzie is just as infatuated with him.
8 “Izzie, I’m Getting A New Heart”
For someone so close to dying, Denny is buzzing with life, love, and good humor, but there is never any doubt that he is also a very sick man. His day-to-day revolves around his condition, and even if he tries not to show it, it takes a heavy emotional toll on him.
That makes his tearful smile as he tells Izzie that he might finally be getting a new heart even more meaningful. It's not just a surgery, it means that he might get his entire life back.
7 “I Oughtta Kick Your A**, Makin' Me Yell Like A Baby In Front Of The Girl I’m Tryin' To Impress”
Tachycardic but awake, the doctors take quick action and shock Denny's heart in an attempt to slow his rapid heartbeat enough to save his life. Jealous of their connection, Alex offers to man the paddles and takes a smug pleasure as Denny cries out in pain.
Stabilized but weak, Denny still manages to get the last word in, joking through his pain, and letting everyone in the room know that he is in fact trying to impress Izzie.
6 “You’re Gonna Make My Heart Stop Beating, And It’s Brand New”
For a man always making lewd jokes and professing his feelings for his doctor, there is something incredibly pure and vulnerable about Denny Duquette. He always knows exactly the right thing to say, and that's the case when Izzie finally tells him that yes, she will marry him.
Time doesn't matter to him anymore. He just got a heart transplant and he wants to make the most of that gift, and in his mind, he can't do that without Izzie Stevens in his life.
5 “You Are In Love With Me. It’s Not Your Fault...I’m A Catch”
Denny has his eye on his beautiful attending doctor from day one, flirting back and forth with her as she checks his vitals. He goes so far as to tease her that she is already in love with him - and for good reason, according to him.
“I mean, I’m well off, but I’m not into money. I’m smart but I’m not a know-it-all. I’m funny. I’m really nice. I love animals. And I’m hot.” One thing Denny is not is humble, but that’s part of his charm.
4 “Would It Be Wrong For Me To Feel You Up Right Now?”
Amidst their tragic love story, there is ever-present lighthearted humor interwoven in Denny's looming fear of it all ending in an instant. He uses humor therapeutically, but he doesn't deflect.
He lets her in. He tells her how hard this all is on him, but he's still got his jokes. Even in the darkest times, he finds sweet and amusing ways to let her know that he wants her, in more ways than one.
3 “I Thought You Were My Heaven, But Maybe I’m Your Hell”
"I loved you so much. I loved you so much that when I got to come back for you, I thought... you were my heaven". Denny completes most of his series run over sporadic guest spots in season 2 and season 3, but he comes back a few seasons later as a ghost.
This storyline is particularly painful because not only is Izzie dying, but Denny is still Denny. He's not changed. He isn't a spooky harbinger of doom. He is still himself and he is still desperately in love with her.
2 “I Tricked Her Into Marrying Me. How Smart Am I?”
Despite their relationship being against the rules in just about every way, Denny is proud of his crush and jokes about it in front of the other hospital staff shamelessly.
When Dr. Bailey comes into his room just as Izzie leaves, Denny grins from ear to ear as he jokes that he tricked Izzie into marrying him - slight self-deprecation as he feels his condition has to do with her caring for him. Still, there's so much pride in his tone, he clearly wouldn't mind it being true.
1 “I Choose You Izzie Stevens”
Denny chose Izzie from the very beginning. The first moment that he saw her, he loved her, and he always treated her that way. "For five years, I've had to live by the choices of my doctors. The guys that cut me open decided my life, there wasn't one choice that was mine."
Denny didn't have a healthy body or a way to take her out on extravagant dates, but he did have love and he never let her feel like she wasn't appreciated. Both with his words and his actions, Denny chose her every day.
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