The seriously funny Jeremy Piven returns Down Under
Jeremy Piven is famous for playing the potty-mouthed Hollywood agent Ari Gold in Entourage, but he’s now also known for his successful standup comedy, which he’ll be bringing Down Under again in August.
Despite disgracing himself (in the most endearing way) on television on his trip to Australia last year, American actor and comedian Jeremey Piven is returning Down Under.
His first tour here last year was so successful he obviously felt a victory lap was in order, despite a major indiscretion – dropping an F-bomb on television. When I chat to him by phone – he’s in the US, I’m in Brisbane – I assure him that nobody would be too offended by his cussing.
“The F-bomb is a form of punctuation in Australia,” I explain in my role as an unofficial cultural ambassador.
Last year Piven, 59, was courtside at John Cain Arena for an NBL grand final series game between Melbourne United and the Tasmania JackJumpers.
In an interview with ESPN he channelled Ari Gold, the role that made him internationally famous in the hit TV series Entourage. Ari Gold is a powerful, intense Hollywood agent known for his temper, smooth talking and brutal takedowns. Oh, and his profanity.
Gold was one of the most-loved characters on the show, which ran for eight seasons between 2004 and 2011. There was a spin-off movie in 2015.
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In the ESPN interview, Piven was asked how Gold would fire up an NBL team. Tapping into the character that earned him a Golden Globe and three Emmy Awards, he reportedly said: “Just let them know we have a finite amount of time on this planet and you can be viciously mediocre or you can get the f**k after it.”
Piven apologised for his language – or rather Gold’s language.
“They asked me how I would address the team as Ari Gold, so I just launched into the character and I forgot where I was,” he tells me.
Piven is a serious thespian and tells me that he has been on stage since he was eight. (I want to say, “you must be exhausted”, but I refrain.) His parents were actors and drama teachers and his elder sister is film director Shira Piven. He grew up in the theatre. He’s so good an actor, we think he actually is Ari Gold. But in a 20-minute chat it becomes quite clear he is not.
He’s actually very serious … for a comedian. I have found that a lot of comedians are serious. Not that long ago I had a chat with Ben Elton – and I didn’t laugh once.
With Piven I was waiting for him to do some Ari Gold Schtick, but he didn’t. Because he’s Jeremey Piven, not Ari Gold, ok? Whether he will channel Gold at all during his show in Auckland or his shows in Australia (the tour begins in Sydney and finishes in Adelaide) remains to be seen.
He’s a bit of a newcomer to the Antipodes and is surprised when I refer to New Zealand as “Australia-lite”. “There’s competition between the two countries?” he asks.
“Oh yeah,” I tell him, explaining that some of our greatest actors are actually Kiwis – exhibits A&B – Sam Neill and Russell Crowe. This is a revelation to Piven. I can feel him filing that away for later use.
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As well as being famous for Entourage, Piven also achieved significant success playing the title role in the British/PBS television drama series Mr Selfridge, the semi-fictional story based on the life of Harry Selfridge, who founded the London department store Selfridge’s.
Piven has also appeared in numerous successful films, including Grosse Pointe Blank, Singles, Very Bad Things, The Family Man, Black Hawk Down, The Kingdom, Heat, PCU, Old School, RocknRolla, Serendipity, Smokin’ Aces, Runaway Jury, American Night and period drama The Walk.
He was most recently seen in the feature film Last Call, opposite Oscar winner Bruce Dern and Orange is the New Black star Taryn Manning; and The Performance, in which he plays Jewish tap dancer Harold May. The Performance is based on an Arthur Miller short story and centres on a dance troupe’s risky performance for Hitler in 1937 Berlin.
I should add that the first time many of us saw Piven was on Seinfeld. He played an alternate George Costanza in a 1993 episode.
‘I like the fact that Australians are not easily offended’
Being a serious actor who has transitioned to standup comedy (like Jerry Seinfeld) is quite an achievement and one he is loving. And because Australian audiences loved him last year, he’s returning the favour.
“I appreciate a good audience and when I was in Australia last year, I found them to be very present,” Piven says. “You had to earn the laughs, though. I like the fact that Australians are not easily offended. When I hear an Australian accent, they usually come over to me. It’s comforting to know that the good people of Australia appreciate my work.”
Piven was impressed with the Gold Coast, in particular, last year.
“It was so beautiful,” he says. “It felt like a bigger lusher version of Miami – without the douchebags.”
He will read up on what’s happening in Australia before getting here so he gets “a sense of where I am”. “Then we can share the laughs together,” he says.
Jeremy Piven Live at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney, August 2; The Tivoli, Brisbane. August 3; Astor Theatre, Perth, August 6; Hamer Hall, Melbourne, August 8; and Norwood Concert Hall, Adelaide, August 9.