Jeremy Piven grew up in the theater and then knocked around Hollywood as a supporting player until he landed the star-making role of super agent Ari Gold on Entourage in 2004. “The question that I would get the most while I was playing Ari was — and it used to upset me — was how much of me was Ari,” Jeremy, 59, exclusively tells Closer. “You got to grow up and realize that if you do your work and you play a character authentically, they might think that it is actually you. [But] I didn’t make him my own. He was a very specific, fleshed out character on the page.”
Since the show completed its run in 2011, Jeremy’s continued to keep busy — both on and off screen. He recently starred in The Performance, a film directed by his sister, Shira Piven, about a Jewish dancer recruited to perform at a one-night only engagement in 1930s Berlin that forces him to question his values. In February, Jeremy is scheduled to return to touring the country with his stand-up comedy.
You were born into a theatrical family. Did you feel any pressure to join the business?
“Oh, no, there was no pressure whatsoever. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but I crawled up on stage at eight years old. My parents needed a kid and so I got up there and was the kid in The Seagull. John Cusack and I would alternate roles from one night to the next. I just had a great time.”
Did your parents give you any coaching before you got up on stage?
“They always instilled this ideology that we’re enough in this life. Whatever we are is enough to get up on stage and contribute. Never think that we’re not enough. That was very empowering from a very early age. And I loved doing it. They never forced me, or even told me to do this for a living.”
So, you wanted to be a professional actor from very early on?
“I think that sometimes you take things for granted in this life. I just assumed that every kid grows up in an acting family and has a theater to perform at. From eight to 18, I performed at my parents’ theater. Then I went away to college, and in the first semester you’re not really allowed to even audition for a play. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t able to perform. Once something’s taken away from you, you have this really nice perspective on it. It really made me realize how much I love it.”
If you hadn’t made it as an actor, what do you think you’d be doing?
“I love to play the drums. I would probably be playing the drums somewhere, maybe on the road.”
One of your earliest high-profile jobs was a role on The Larry Sanders Show. What was it like working with Garry Shandling?
“Shandling was a genius. That was my first job out of college. I was just incredibly lucky. He really cared. Everything mattered to him. He took great pride in his work, and he really felt the responsibility to make the show as good as he possibly could every moment. He was one of the greats.”
You also were part of the Ellen cast when her character came out.
“We were all a part of history. She came out and it really was felt. It was exciting to be a part of that.”
Did you worry that the show might get cancelled?
“I didn’t think like that. I came from a very liberal family. We were very accepting of wherever you’re coming from. The idea of anti-Semitism or racism or homophobia was all very new to me.”
You won three Emmys playing Ari Gold on Entourage. The character is famously based on real-life agent Ari Emanuel. Did that make the role harder to play?
“Entourage was an incredible experience. Doug Ellin wrote a brilliant script and it was such an honor to tear into those monologues. We knew that if we didn’t depict an authentic take on the town, we would hear about it.”
“Even though every word was written, it was my job to make it all feel improvisational. Ari Emanuel, the inspiration for the character, is an incredibly successful and wildly prolific agent, so there are a lot of very good inspirations for this role out there. It was an honor.”
Tell us about The Performance.
“It’s a film at its core about a guy that is struggling with the question of how far will one compromise themselves to become successful in this life. My character risks it all for fame and for momentum. It’s a cautionary tale.”
It took you 15 years to get this film made. You must be very proud of it.
“I’m very proud to get it out. I actually learned how to tap dance for it, which was the hardest thing I have ever had to do to prepare for a role. I’d been trying to get the money to produce it — each year that we couldn’t find the money, I got better at tap! And to work with my sister, who wrote and directed this film, is very, very special. We grew up in the Piven Theatre, so we come obviously from a very similar place with our work. She and I have mutual respect and I trust her completely.”
Is it true you hurt yourself making the film?
“I broke eight ribs, which was incredibly painful. I healed up with this incredible healer named Nona, up in the hills in Austria. She did a lot of Eastern medicine on me. I’ve always done Eastern medicine. I’ve been meditating. I just think there isn’t anyone who can’t benefit from all of that. Going inward can add to anyone’s life.”
What’s the best lesson you’ve learned?
“My mother was someone who wasn’t frivolous with her words. She’d just drop little things on me, like ‘Endings are important.’ How you leave something with someone matters. She gave me a lot of good words to live by. I was lucky to have her.”
You’re touring with your stand-up. What do you enjoy about it?
“I love being on the road, being able to be in a room with an audience and have a laugh. The pressure is a privilege, so I love that privilege. You got to face your fears in this life, because on the other side of that is something very rewarding.”
