Entourage!

Born on the 26th July 1965, in New York, Entourage star Jeremy Piven is an actor of extraordinary talent. Classically trained at his parents theatre school in Evanston, IL, he formed a long lasting friendship with John Cusack, who trained with him. Both Piven and Cusack co-founded New Crime Productions (formerly New Criminals Theatre Company), who were responsible for the successes of Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. When talking about his company, he was quoted as saying "unless an entire row of people got up in the middle of a performance and left the theater in disgust, I felt as though I hadn't done my job".

Entourage

Piven used to be a member of the Second City National Touring Company. Making his screen debut on the Carol and Company variety show in 1990, Entourage star, Jeremy Piven went on to star on The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld and then Disney's Pride & Joy. It was then that this talented actor starred as Ellen's cousin, Spence, in Ellen.

Entourage, a loveable guy

Those of us who have been lucky enough to know or work with Piven, speak very highly of him, classing him as a funny, loveable guy. Whilst he has been involved with a variety of movies, he has never been cast as a romantic lead. However, his characters have such diversity from a hilarious gay Versace salesman in Rush Hour 2 (please watch the special features on the DVD for a great laugh) to the courageous Cliff Wolcott in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and not forgetting his brilliant character in Cupid. Every role is perfected with style and enthusiasm.

Entourage and his parents

Entourage star, Jeremy Piven went parents, Joyce Piven and the late Byrne Piven, founded the Piven Theatre Workshop. A wonderful article about Byrne Piven's life can be read here and also Jeremy's recollections of his father from the Network.

Entourage and Ellen DeGeneres

Classically trained character actor Entourage shot to stardom as Ellen DeGeneres' unforgettable, sharp-witted cousin Spence on the ABC sitcom Ellen. Born in New York City on July 26, 1965, Piven is the son of actors Byrne and Joyce Piven. He grew up in Evanston, IL, where his parents founded the Piven Theater Workshop. He studied theater at his parents' school alongside Lili Taylor, Rosanna Arquette, and pal John Cusack. The longtime friends, who began by performing Chekhov at age eight, have collaborated on several films -- including One Crazy Summer (1986), Say Anything (1989), The Grifters (1990), Floundering (1994), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), and Serendipity (2001). They also co-founded the New Criminals Theater Company in 1989, which is now New Crime Productions, the company behind Grosse Pointe Blank and the Cusack vehicle High Fidelity (2002).

Entourage and Second City

A former member of the Second City National Touring Company, Piven made his small-screen debut on Carol Burnett's short-lived variety show Carol and Company in 1990. He went on to play a writer on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show and to appear on Seinfeld before starring as an unemployed father on the short-lived series Pride & Joy. Disney, who produced Pride & Joy, then created a role for him on Ellen. After the sitcom's cancellation in April 1998, Entourage star, Jeremy Piven went landed his own show, the offbeat ABC comedy/drama Cupid. Also starring Piven's real-life neighbor Paula Marshall, Cupid followed the infamous matchmaker after he had been thrown out of heaven for bad behavior and attempted to earn his reentry by uniting 100 couples in true love without using his otherworldly powers. The series won critical acclaim and earned Piven quite a following. Yet, as with many of the network's more innovative shows, ABC mishandled Cupid, shuffling it in and out of prime time until its inevitable cancellation. Undaunted, Piven returned to television a year later to guest star on Will & Grace.

Entourage and film

While Piven's film career has suffered the same ups and downs as his time on television, it is marked by numerous scene-stealing supporting performances. After making his feature-film debut in Lucas (1986), the actor appeared in Robert Altman's The Player (1992), Cameron Crowe's Singles (1992), and Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts (1992). He fell into a slump with failures like Judgment Night (1993) and Car 54, Where are You? (1994), but became a cult favorite for his portrayal of a campus misfit in P.C.U. (1994). Standout roles opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in Miami Rhapsody (1995), Robert De Niro in Heat (1995), Bill Murray in Larger Than Life (1996), and Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) quickly followed. Entourage star, Jeremy Piven went then proved to be the only good thing in Peter Berg's Very Bad Things (1998), before playing Nicolas Cage's best friend in The Family Man (2000). Piven took a respectable dramatic turn as a doomed helicopter pilot in Ridley Scott's award-winning Black Hawk Down, but returned to comedy for Old School (2003), a film by the makers of Road Trip

Entourage's family

Scion of an important Chicago theatrical family (Joyce and Byrne Piven are the co-artistic directors of Evanston's Piven Theatre Workshop, and Jeremy's sister Shira is a director in New York), and a longtime friend of John Cusack, Piven has finally become nationally recognized for his role in the critically-acclaimed ABC TV series, "Cupid." The hour-long weekly comedy is filmed in Chicago.

Entourage in movies

His feature film credits include Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank, and Kiss the Girls, as well as the recent Very Bad Things (a couple of scenes are completely stolen by Piven). Other movies that this star-crossed actor has been in include Phoenix, Music from Another Room, and Just Write. Piven had also been a regular on HBO's "Larry Sanders Show," and "Ellen."

Entourage in college

Piven studied at Drake University, and eventually graduated from New York University before attending Connecticut's Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He and Cusack founded the New Crimes theatre company. -- Kip Addotta