“The cameos are insane. When you’re looking over and you’re playing a scene with Liam Neeson, and he’s flipping you off, you know. When, you’ve got Kelsey Grammer and Ed O’Neill, and every pro athlete and hip-hop star in the world, and it just goes on and on and on. And Jessica Alba is leaning into me, just crushing me, and it’s so fun. So, I don’t know if there is a contest for cameos, but I’d like to enter us into that contest,” Jeremy Piven said. Emily Ratajkowski of Blurred Lines fame, T.I., Ronda Rousey, Liam Neeson, Calvin Harris, Ed O’Neil, Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Alba, Russell Wilson, and Pharrell and Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment as father and son, Larsen and Travis McCredle are set to appear. Jerry Ferrara is also excited by all of the cameos. “It never gets old. It definitely was one of the perks of the job that, it was so hard early on to get people to do the show. They didn’t know what it was, and they were like, are we making fun of them? Once they realized the joke’s not on them … I always go back to this one particular day. It was around season four I think. We had Kanye West and Sydney Pollack on the same day. And I remember looking at that call sheet, and there were all of us, and then looking down at the cameo list like, Wow, where are you ever going to shoot something where you got Kanye West in the morning and then you got Sydney Pollack coming in after lunch? It’s the most unique thing I’ve ever been a part of.”
In the movie, Ari is ruling the world. Piven continued, “After eight years of being immersed in the show, you have a real sense of where the character is coming from. And it’s kind of where, the seeds were planted in the last episode about the offer that he has, and his conundrum to kind of rule the world or stay in Italy and lay low, and continue to nurture the relationship with his wife. And I think we’ve kind of honored that, and made a proposal, and picked up not too long after that. It’s pretty true to what we know about Ari in terms of the energy he would have would be like after sitting idle in Italy, not having access to technology and to the world. And so, you know, we pick him up in a very revved up state.” Ari is supportive of Vince wanting to direct, “I think one of the cool things I hung my hat on with a character like Ari Gold is that he had so much loyalty to Vince, and I think that he believes in him. And clearly, since the first time he saw him in a Mentos commercial back in the day. So, he will back anything he wants to do creatively. So Ari will go to the mat for his clients, as you saw,” Piven added.
“It has been uncomfortable. Listen, they could study me in my physical state in terms of how stress plays on the body, because the reality is—for instance—if you are an incredibly reactive person, and you’re working on the lowest level, and if you continuously give into your dark side and are angry, and screaming, and breaking things and you do that for hours and hours on end, you are going to be incredibly exhausted. That’s just the way life is. So the character is a blessing and a curse in the way that, you know, it is so fun to play him, and it’s cathartic, and at the same time, it’s incredibly draining. But, I’m so grateful to be able to ride with him again in a movie,” Jeremy said of getting back into character. On Ari’s evolution, Piven shared, “Well, I think we are the sum of all our experiences, and hopefully my goal, and everyone’s goal, is to get better at what we do. So I don’t want to repeat what I’ve done; I only want to try to make it better. And I think being over in England and acting with the best actors in the world going into season three, I think that they’ve, I hope that they’ve raised my game. Over there in England, you know, they use the word proper a lot, but they use it for a reason because they want to do things right. They go and study acting at a university, or they go to a conservatory, and they work on the stage until they get their break. So I’m working with the best actors in the world. So hopefully I’m able to come back and give you an even more super-powered portrayal of this character. That’s my goal; that’s what I hope to do.”
Some of Piven’s fans expect him to be just like Ari. “They’re very disappointed when they meet me. They’re like, Who’s this guy? They usually ask me what’s wrong, and why I’m so calm. You know, it’s interesting because I think I’ve been lucky enough to spend seven months a year in the UK, and our cultures are so different. They immediately see you and address you as an actor. And I think in the States, it’s interesting and it might be interesting to study—I don’t know what the variable for this is—I think that they, you know, maybe being in your living room for eight years, they associate you immediately with that character. And then when they meet you and they see that you’re not that character, I think it’s a little confusing, and I’ve had people literally circle my face with their finger and go, What is this? Who is this? And they think that I’m kidding, and I get the strangest looks. Listen, I grew up in the theatre, I was lucky enough to be a working actor and have been my whole life. The last character I played before Entourage was Dean Pritchard in Old School, which was incredibly nerdy Dean, who had a chip on his shoulder. So I was already lucky enough to be a working actor before we started this journey. And playing, you know, everyone from George Costanza to schlumpy best friends. Then when you play a character with real power and energy, people lock into that and go, Oh, this must be the guy.”
So how does Piven wind down after a long day? “I do yoga. I’ve been doing yoga for over twenty years and I love it. I think, oddly enough and you wouldn’t believe it, even to do yoga before I play him, I think is essential because, if you notice people when they’re angry, they’re at their most calm. You know? They’re usually not gasping for breath the way people might portray them. They’re angry but they’re calm, so you have to come from a very calm stage, which is very strange considering it’s such a juxtaposition to the way you see that character.” On reprising his Vincent Chase role, actor Adrian Grenier shared, “It’s a joy, man, it’s a real treat to be able to come back and get the gang back together. It’s family—it’s like a big family reunion, not only with the entourage, but also with the whole crew and many of the same faces for the past 8 years. It’s just a lot of fun.” On reuniting with the guys, he reflected, “Everyday’s another strange experience with these guys, just a lot of fun, a lot of weird things happen. But it’s just all in good fun, really; I mean these guys are making me laugh right before the take. I could barely hold it together before they said action.” On his character’s evolution he said, “Always climbing, always aspiring. You know, that’s part of the joy of the show, we always manage to one-up ourselves. We have to because, you know, because the audience really demands a fantasy ride. So everything has to be very heightened, and we have to live vicariously through these guys who have the best lives in the world.”
Adrian Grenier is loving the fan reactions on social media. “I mean there is so much movement on social media right now—it’s buzzing. People are chomping at the bit, very excited, relieved it’s finally getting done. We all are, and you know, we’re just going to stay the course until the premiere.” On the differences between shooting the TV show and film Grenier reflected, “The spirit is the same. As I was saying, you know, the faces are the same, so we’ve perfected the production over the years, so it’s quite efficient. You know, everybody sort of knows what they need to do to accomplish a day, or a scene. So it doesn’t feel different in that. What is slightly different, which is really exciting, is to watch Steve Fierberg step outside the limitations of the show, which because of the budgets and the time constraints, we couldn’t get a lot of extra shots. But now that we’re making the film, we can take the time to really expand and indulge the cinematic aspects of the show.” On whether he’s still learning about Vince Adrian declared, “I mean, you have to, and the relationship between the guys just deepens and gets more complex. But, for me, the focus is really about, how do I bring the story arc of the film to life and really challenge Vince to have to overcome the obstacles. So that’s different, that’s new. But at the fundamental core of this show, it’s about the bonding of the guys and the friendship, and that will never change.”
If there could be an unrated version of the movie, Grenier said “There’s some risqué stuff here, certainly. We’re making an adult show, movie. I mean, it’s Entourage. It’s for people who can handle the topic. It’s not for the faint of heart, although, the one thing I’ve always loved about the show, is that people who you would never think would watch the show are the biggest fans. So I have grandmas come up to me being like, I love your show; it’s so great! It’s the only time I get to spend quality time with my 12-year-old granddaughter. And I’m just like, okay, first of all there are so many layers of inappropriate, but I f-ing love it. It’s fantastic, this show, because despite all the language, and the nudity, and the sex, and all that, it’s a show about friendship, and bonding, and what really makes family community important.”
