Jeremy Piven
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| Jeremy Piven | |
 Piven in February 2009 |
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| Born | Jeremy Samuel Piven July 26, 1965 New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983 – present |
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is a three-time Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold on the critically acclaimed HBO television series Entourage.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Piven was born in New York City and grew up in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago.[1] He graduated from Evanston Township High School,[2] and attended Harand Theater Camp in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, as a teenager. He played the part of "Bernardo" in West Side Story, there. In Illinois, he trained at Piven Theatre Workshop,[3] founded by his parents Byrne Piven and Joyce (née Hiller), both of whom were actors and drama teachers.[1][4] He has a sister, Shira,[5] and attended Camp Chi, a Jewish Community Center summer camp in Lake Delton, Wisconsin, in the 1970s. He also attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa,[6] and is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.[7] He spent a semester at the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. He has appeared in a number of films with John Cusack, who is also from Evanston and is a fellow alumnus of the Piven Theatre Workshop (as are Cusack's sisters Joan and Ann). Piven and Cusack once shared an apartment and have been friends since high school.[8]
[edit] Career
Piven's first significant role was as a regular castmember for several seasons on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show, where he played the head writer Jerry. Piven has appeared in several successful films, including Lucas, Grosse Pointe Blank, Singles, Very Bad Things, The Family Man, Black Hawk Down, Heat, PCU, Old School, Guy Ritchie's latest outing Rock N Rolla and Runaway Jury. He also had brief cameo appearances in Rush Hour 2 and in the US release of Cars.
Since 2004, Piven has played rambunctious Hollywood agent Ari Gold in the HBO series Entourage. He received Emmy nominations for best supporting actor four straight years from 2005 to 2008, and won the award in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Piven was also the star and producer of the short-lived ABC dramedy series Cupid, and was a supporting cast member on the last three seasons of the sitcom Ellen. He played the part of Ellen's cousin, Spence. He also voiced Elongated Man in three episodes of Justice League Unlimited.
In 2007, Piven appeared in the video for "Drivin' Me Wild", the third single taken from rapper Common's seventh album Finding Forever. The two were co-stars in Smokin' Aces, and appeared together when Piven hosted SNL in January 2007.[9]
Piven performed "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field on Father’s Day, 2006. Piven gave the cue to Chicago Cubs fans by saying, "Let's hug it out, you little bitches", a line he made famous as his character Ari Gold on the hit HBO show Entourage. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was to have said, "Hug it out, Cubs fans".[10][dead link] He apologized on WGN-TV, and later claimed it was an accident during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[citation needed]
Piven also appeared in local television advertisements for Cincinnati Bell Telephone, a subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell, Inc. He ended each commercial with the tagline, "Welcome to Cincinnati Bell". These advertisements ended on February 28, 2007, as the rights ended on that date. Piven's voice can be heard in national television advertisements for the restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings, in which he delivers the phrase, "Buffalo Wild Wings: You have to be here". He also appeared in Paul Westerberg's "Dyslexic Heart" video for the movie Singles, and played a balding Michael Barth playing George Costanza on the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot".
Piven was in a series of 1998 TV commercials for the Chicago Blackhawks, including one in which he famously proclaimed "Detroit Sucks!" from the upper level of the United Center. He hosted Saturday Night Live on January 20, 2007 with musical guest AFI. Also in 2007, Piven appeared as Deputy Chief of Mission Damon Schmidt in The Kingdom. He lent his voice to Earth Hour in a video for a campaign urging people to turn off their lights for one hour on March 29, 2008.
Piven appeared in the first Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, co-starring "Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss and three-time Tony nominee Raul Esparza. The production began preview performances on October 3, 2008, and opened on October 23, 2008; the play was due to run through February 22, 2009. After Piven missed several performances, on December 17, 2008, Piven's rep announced that due to an undisclosed illness, Piven would be ending his run in the play effective immediately.[11] The illness was revealed to be hydrargaria, a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds, though the source is unknown. Rumours have indicated that the high level of mercury could potentially have been caused by Piven's excess habits of consuming sushi several times a day.[12] Mamet joked that Piven was leaving the play "to pursue a career as a thermometer".[13] William H. Macy replaced Piven in the Broadway show.[14]
[edit] Personal life
Piven considers himself "Jewish-Buddhist."[15] He starred in the Travel Channel special Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime detailing his journey across India. Former Saturday Night Live writer and comedy director Adam McKay is his brother-in-law. Piven is uncle to Pearl from The Landlord.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Lucas | Spike | |
| One Crazy Summer | Ty | ||
| 1989 | Elvis Stories | Lenny | |
| Say Anything... | Mark | ||
| 1990 | The Grifters | Sailor - Freshman | |
| White Palace | Kahn | ||
| 1992 | The Player | Steve Reeves | |
| Body Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger | Patrolman | ||
| Bob Roberts | Candle Seller | ||
| Singles | Doug Hughley | ||
| There Goes the Neighborhood | Albert Lodge | ||
| 1993 | Twenty Bucks | Nervous Quick-Mart Clerk | |
| 12:01 | Howard Richter | Television movie | |
| Judgment Night | Ray Cochran | ||
| 1994 | The Ticket | Miles Moutnjoy | |
| Floundering | Guy | ||
| Twogether | Arnie | ||
| Car 54, Where Are You? | Herbert Hortz | ||
| PCU | James ‘Droz’ Andrews | ||
| 1995 | Miami Rhapsody | Mitchell | |
| Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | Peter Walston | ||
| Heat | Dr. Bob | ||
| 1996 | E=mc2 | Dr. Paul Higgins | |
| Layin’ Low | Jerry | ||
| Larger Than Life | Walter | ||
| 1997 | Just Write | Harold McMurphy | |
| Grosse Pointe Blank | Paul Spericki | ||
| Livers Ain’t Cheap | John | ||
| Kiss the Girls | Henry Castillo, LAPD | ||
| Don King: Only in America | Hank Schwartz | Television movie | |
| 1998 | Music from Another Room | Billy Swan | |
| Phoenix | Fred Shuster | ||
| Very Bad Things | Michael Berkow | ||
| 1999 | Partners | Nick | Television movie |
| 2000 | Red Letters | Thurston Clarque | |
| The Crew | Det. Steve Menteer | Independent film | |
| The Family Man | Arnie | ||
| Rush Hour 2 | Versace Salesman | ||
| 2001 | Serendipity | Dean Kansky | |
| Black Hawk Down | Clifton "Elvis" Wolcott | ||
| 2002 | Highway | Scawldy | Independent film |
| Me and Daphne | Interviewer | ||
| 2003 | Old School | Dean Gordon ‘Cheese’ Pritchard | |
| Runaway Jury | Lawrence Green | ||
| Scary Movie 3 | Ross Giggins | ||
| 2004 | Chasing Liberty | Alan Weiss | |
| 2005 | Two for the Money | Jerry | |
| Scooby Doo in Where's My Mummy? | Rock Rivers | Direct-to-video - Voice | |
| 2006 | A Cat’s Tale | Blackie | Direct-to-video - Voice |
| Cars | Harv | Voice | |
| Keeping Up with the Steins | Adam Fiedler | ||
| Smokin' Aces | Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel | ||
| 2007 | The Kingdom | Damon Schmidt | |
| 2008 | RocknRolla | Roman | |
| 2009 | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard | Don Ready | |
| American Empire | Unknown Role | in Pre-production | |
| Untitled Man vs. Nature Project | Unknown Role | Announced |
[edit] Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Carol & Company | Comedy sketch characters | Television variety show |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Michael Barth | Television Sitcom |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Godfrey Nabbott | Guest star (2 episodes) |
| Pride & Joy | Nathan Green | Television series | |
| 1997 | The Drew Carey Show | Spence Kovak | Guest star |
| Grace Under Fire | Spence Kovak | Guest star | |
| Coach | Spence Kovak | Guest star | |
| Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man | Victor DeMann | Voice | |
| 1992-1998 | The Larry Sanders Show | Jerry Capen | Main cast (15 episodes) |
| 1995-1998 | Ellen | Spence Kovak | Main cast |
| 1998-1999 | Cupid | Trevor Hale/Cupid | Lead actor (All 15 episodes) |
| 2000 | Will & Grace | Nicholas | |
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Brain Pod #57 | Voice | |
| 2002 | Rugrats | Additional Voices | Voice |
| The Twilight Zone | Tyler Ward | Guest star (2 episodes) | |
| 2003 | Spider-Man: The New Animated Series | Roland Gaines | Voice (2 episodes) |
| 2004-2005 | Justice League | The Elongated Man | Voice (3 episodes) |
| 2004-Present | Entourage | Ariel ‘Ari’ Gold | Main cast |
| 2005 | Scooby Doo in Where's My Mummy? | Rock Rivers | Voice |
| 2006 | Jeremy Piven’s Journey of a Lifetime | Himself | Documentary film |
| 2008 | José Cuervo Commercial | Himself | Voice |
[edit] Producer
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-1999 | Cupid | Producer | Television series |
| 2006 | Jeremy Piven’s Journey of a Lifetime | Executive Producer | Documentary film |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Jeremy Piven Biography". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/25/Jeremy-Piven.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
- ^ Dandelife.com : Story : "poo is in *newsweek*", by caroline m
- ^ Piven Theatre Workshop - Home
- ^ HBO: Jeremy Piven as Ari - Entourage
- ^ Jeremy Piven Biography | TVGuide.com
- ^ Jeremy Piven, Employing His Acting Skills (washingtonpost.com)
- ^ List of famous PIKES
- ^ Access Hollywood
- ^ SNL Archives | Episode. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
- ^ Monsters and Critics - Page Not Found 404
- ^ Docs Tell Piven: Broadway is Bad for Your Health TMZ, December 17, 2008
- ^ NFI Response to Jeremy's Piven's Claims About Fish and Mercury
- ^ Jeremy Piven Abruptly Departs Broadway's Speed-the-Plow Playbill, December 17, 2008
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20247585,00.html
- ^ The Star Online eCentral: Jeremy’s journey
[edit] External links
- Jeremy Piven at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview on WHO.com with Jeremy Piven and Doug Ellin
- New York Post's Page Six Magazine Is Jeremy Piven the Biggest Jerk in Showbiz?
- Jeremy Piven Fansite
| Golden Globe Award | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jeremy Irons for Elizabeth I |
Best Supporting Actor - Series for Entourage 2008 |
Succeeded by Tom Wilkinson |
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