Jeremy Piven feels at home on stage, a place that he's experienced since he was 8. Photo / Ted Castillo
Jeremy Piven feels at home on stage, a place that he's experienced since he was 8. Photo / Ted Castillo
Hardworking, high-energy, hilarious - all words that could be used to describe Golden Globe-winner Jeremy Piven, who hits New Zealand shores for the first time in July with his bombastic brand of biting stand-up.
From stepping into the shoes of entrepreneur Mr Selfridge to bringing verbose super-agent Ari Gold tolife in Entourage, Piven tells Mitchell Hageman about his stage and screen journey, bizarre requests at a urinal, and the importance of staying true to yourself.
“Anger is a punishment you give yourself for something someone else does - kind of like burning your Tesla,” Jeremy Piven jokes, as he recalls the many times fans of Entourage have asked him to shout expletives at him, like his character Ari Gold.
While these constant requests bugged him at first (“Sir, I’m at the urinal, can you hold on one second?”), it’s something that, upon reflection, he now feels rather grateful for.
“It can get very awkward, but you learn ways to deal with your anger, and you have to grow up. Now, I really see it as a gift, you know, this person has been moved and touched by the work I’ve done.”
Stage and screen star Jeremy Piven will bring his stand-up comedy set to New Zealand for the first time this July. Photo / IMDb Portrait Studio
Touched rightly so, not just by Ari Gold’s fire and fury, but by Piven’s incredibly diverse catalogue of work, which includes a memorable stint as a historical department store icon in a show beloved by Kiwis during its 2013-16 run.
British production Mr Selfridge, about American retail magnate Harry Selfridge, was the show Piven signed on for right after Entourage finished, an experience he described as a “complete 180″.
It still shocks him how popular the show was and still is here in New Zealand, considering the lack of traction it got in the United States.
“In the UK, they do business the old school way. They’re decent people and want to do business with people that they think are really decent,” he says, of signing his Mr Selfridge contract.
“Instead of striking up a great deal with Amazon, or Netflix or Hulu, they went with PBS, and PBS is great, but it’s public broadcasting and they have no money to advertise, so not a lot of people saw [Mr Selfridge] here in the States.”
The cast of 'Mr Selfridge' starring Jeremy Piven (centre) as department store icon Harry Selfridge.
Piven, born in New York but raised in the mighty city of Chicago, recalls a rather humorous exchange with two UK fans who were shocked when they found out he wasn’t a British actor putting on an American accent to play Selfridge.
“They said, Oh my God, you’re wonderful, you’re a great actor. Where are you from? Oh, you’re American. Oh, well, then you’re a s*** actor then!
“Because of the name Jeremy, they thought I was from the UK doing an American accent.”
Role variety isn’t something Piven has been a stranger to throughout his career, starring in everything from hardboiled crime dramas like Sin City: A Dame To Kill For and kids’ films like Spy Kids: All The Time In The World.
But his heart will always also be at home on the stage, a medium that’s fuelled his successful stand-up career.
A big fan of Kiwi sportsmen like Israel Adesanya and Joseph Parker, Piven compares his career to that of these stars, who all have different fighting backgrounds that have helped them progress in their work and find success.
“Since I was 8 years old, I’ve been on stage as an actor, and I was also doing improv, which means that you are kind of writing on your feet doing comedy and all of those things,” he says.
Another major influence for Piven, growing up in the theatre scene, was his mother, renowned acting coach and theatre director Joyce Piven, who died earlier this year.
“She was never big on advice, even though she would give brilliant advice just from her insights and her natural state of being,” Piven says.
“She was a true artist until her last breath, and I was just lucky to know her.”
Something as simple as theatre games helped prep Piven, and no doubt thousands of other young actors, gain self-confidence and skills moving into the industry.
“She would always empower us by saying that you are enough. Get up there and have fun, be in a state of play.
“It’s so clear that having those kinds of role models in your life is a way to get you forward.”
Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven in the Entourage movie.
His mother also helped spark his latest passion project, an adaptation of Arthur Miller short story The Performance about a Jewish tap dancer recruited to perform a one-night engagement in 1930’s Berlin.
“[Joyce] handed it to me and said, ‘this is a great role for you’. When she says something, she means it,” Piven says.
The film is also directed by his sister Shira Piven, making it even closer to home.
Through all the laughs, tears, chaos, and comedy, Piven’s message for those struggling with the wild roller-coaster that is showbusiness is that they are not alone.
“It’s funny, the last book I gave my mom before she died was called The Four Agreements, and one of the things in there was to be a person of your word and not to compare yourself to others.”
And, judging by his whip-smart comedy sets and his keen desire to meet Kiwi crowds, a night with Jeremy Piven seems just the right antidote for New Zealand’s winter blues.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.
