Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven | |
|---|---|
 Piven in February 2009 | |
| Born | Jeremy Samuel Piven |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983 – present |
| Spouse | None |
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role of Ari Gold in the hit HBO series, Entourage.
Biography
Early years
Piven was born in Manhattan 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 Piven, both of whom were actors and drama teachers.[1][4] He also attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa,[5] and is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.[6] 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.[7]
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, Rock N Rolla, Smokin' Aces and Runaway Jury. He also had brief cameo appearances in Rush Hour 2 and in the US release of Cars.
Since 2004, Piven has reinvigorated his career by playing a fast-talking, acerbic 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. 2009 was the first year in which he didn't receive an Emmy Award nomination for his work on Entourage. 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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10] Mamet joked that Piven was leaving the play "to pursue a career as a thermometer".[11] William H. Macy and Norbert Leo Butz replaced Piven in the Broadway show.[12]
Piven was also a special guest host on WWE Monday Night Raw on August 3, 2009.
Personal life
Piven considers himself a "Jewish-Buddhist."[13] 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.
Filmography
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 | ||
| 2001 | Serendipity | Dean Kansky | |
| Rush Hour 2 | Versace Salesman | ||
| 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 |
Television
Producer
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-1999 | Cupid | Producer | Television series |
| 2006 | Jeremy Piven’s Journey of a Lifetime | Executive Producer | Documentary film |
References
- ^ a b "Jeremy Piven Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 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, Employing His Acting Skills (washingtonpost.com)
- ^ List of famous PIKES
- ^ Access Hollywood
- ^ SNL Archives | Episode. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
- ^ 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
External links
- Jeremy Piven on X
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- 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
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{{subst:#if:Piven, Jeremy|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1965}}
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| #default = 1965 births
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- Actors from Chicago, Illinois
- American film actors
- American Jews
- American television actors
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
- Drake University alumni
- Emmy Award winners
- Jewish actors
- Actors from New York
- People from Chicago, Illinois
- People from Evanston, Illinois
- People from New York City
- American Buddhists
- Living people
- Deaths