| Jeremy Piven |
Piven in September 2007 |
| Born |
Jeremy Samuel Piven
July 26, 1965 (1965-07-26) (age 44)
New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actor, producer |
| Years active |
1983 – present |
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965)1 is an American actor. He is best known for his role of Ari Gold in the hit HBO series, Entourage, for which he has won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three occasions and a Golden Globe Award.
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 Jewish actors and drama teachers.14 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 cast member 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 On September 1, 2009, Piven, in a guest appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, explained that he had given up red meat and poultry, and had been getting all of his protein from fish for the past twenty years. 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.
His current movie, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is his first starring role. The movie was released on August 14, 2009. It was neither a commercial success nor a critical one as it received mostly negative reviews.13
Personal life
Piven considers himself a "Jewish Buddhist."14 He starred in the Travel Channel special Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime detailing his journey across India.
Selected filmography
Awards
References
- ^ a b c "Jeremy Piven Biography". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/25/Jeremy-Piven.html. 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
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ The Star Online eCentral: Jeremy’s journey
External links
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Entourage |
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| Persondata |
| NAME |
Piven, Jeremy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Piven, Jeremy Samuel |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
July 26, 1965 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
New York City, New York, U.S. |
| DATE OF DEATH |
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| PLACE OF DEATH |
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![video Was it mercury poisoning or a bad piece of Yellowtail? Jeremy Piven addresses his controversial exit from Broadway's "Speed The Plow." Picture](../viewVideo.html?title=Letterman Jeremy Pivens Fish StoryYouTube=YouTube&summary=Was it mercury poisoning or a bad piece of Yellowtail? Jeremy Piven addresses his controversial exit from Broadway's "Speed The Plow."&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/xp8Ic4-x_Qg&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/xp8Ic4-x_Qg/default.jpg&celebrity=Jeremy Piven&videoType=YouTube)
YouTube=YouTube&summary=I wanted to include less known scenes. Make sure you check out the Season 3 compilation! ... Entourage Ari Gold Jeremy Piven HBO Hollywood ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/TGTJSorTQvw&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/TGTJSorTQvw/default.jpg&celebrity=Jeremy Piven&videoType=YouTube)
 Jeremy Piven on Jonathan Ross 09.10.09YouTube=YouTube&summary=please resubscribe etc. Note: Film clip removed for copyright purposes.&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/tOVd19ZKHyE&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://1.gvt0.com/vi/tOVd19ZKHyE/default.jpg&celebrity=Jeremy Piven&videoType=YouTube)
![Smokin' Aces [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61XszN-dgLL._SL160_.jpg)
