If it’s the year of the underdog, Jeremy Piven is barking up the right tree.
Last week, the Evanston native was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of hyperactive agent Ari Gold in the HBO comedy “Entourage,” which was picked up by HBO on Monday for a third season.
“I think it’s the year of the underdog,” Piven told RedEye on Friday. “It’s like I’m getting a shot, guys like Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen, actors like Terrence Howard [are too]. I think this is a time when people like myself who have been doing it for a while are getting a chance to play roles that allow them more room to play.”
It seems that Piven–a working actor who has been in more than 30 films ranging from “Old School” to “Serendipity” to “Black Hawk Down” to “Singles” and has performed on stage in Chicago and New York and done TV, too–has finally arrived at the age of 39.
Piven’s most recent roles on TV and stage are drawing a new level of critical praise and attention.
The “Entourage” role that earned him an Emmy nod also got him a Golden Globe nomination earlier this year, while his performance in Neil LaBute’s play “Fat Pig”–Piven played the lead–earned him a Drama Desk award nomination in New York. Piven grew up learning to act at Evanston’s Piven Theatre Workshop, an acting school founded by his mother Joyce and father Byrne, who died in 2002. Other famous alums include John and Joan Cusack and Aidan Quinn.
The Emmy nomination after so many years of acting was a sweet surprise, Piven said.
“In my early days, I got my hopes up about a lot of stuff–auditions, the way things would be received. Now I don’t get ahead of myself,” Piven said. “It was a really, really beautiful and unexpected moment.”
His mother said she was thrilled when her son called Thursday morning to let her know he was nominated.
“This is special,” Joyce said Friday. “A wider group of people can appreciate him.”
It seems Piven is already getting that kind of appreciation in Chicago. At Friday’s HBO-sponsored event to promote “Entourage” at the Leg Room on Division Street, he was swarmed by young women snapping his picture and shouting his name. He spent most of the evening chatting with his mother and sister in the VIP area, but he posed for pictures and hugged a few women who pushed through the crowds to the VIP entrance.
His mother said that kind of female attention is nothing new: Their phone started ringing when Jeremy was in 5th grade and never stopped. “I’ve gotten used to it,” Joyce said. “The girls like him–he’s a fun guy to be with.”
And unlike his “Entourage” character, a Hollywood player with an ego to match, his mother said the real-life Piven hasn’t been swept up in the celebrity scene.
“He’s really a Chicago boy,” Joyce said. “He’s really down to earth, and I’m really proud of him. Celebrity-dom is a disease, and if you catch it too early you can die from it. He takes it in stride.”
Though Piven lives in California, he still calls Chicago home. He keeps a home on Lake Shore Drive and returns regularly, including a recent trip that included the “daunting” task of throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field. He’s a big fan of Wrigley, but on non-game days he’s happy to hang out at Funky Buddha Lounge or go to live band karaoke at Stanley’s.
The Chicago actor could be working at home sometime soon. Piven said he’s seriously considering doing a film set in Chicago.
“I’m on Page 9 [of the script], and once I read the location, I’m like, ‘I think I’m in,’ ” he said.
Could Chicagoans someday see a movie filmed here with Piven and another hometown favorite, Vince Vaughn? The two faced off as nemeses in “Old School”–Piven as a bitter college dean determined to stop Vaughn from running a fraternity there–and Piven said he’d like to work with Vaughn again.
“He’s one of those guys that just makes me laugh. And I would love to get back in there and work with him and not hide behind glasses and a bad sweater vest playing the dean,” said Piven, who added that he’s happy to work anywhere there’s a great part.
“I just love acting, so if there’s a great role, I’ll take it,” Piven said. “If they were doing ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ in Schaumburg, I’d be breaking plates in a suburb near you.”
Looking for love?
Now that Jeremy Piven is getting ready to turn 40 next week, it might be time to settle down.
At least, that’s the opinion of his mother, Joyce Piven. At an HBO party to promote “Entourage” on Friday night, Joyce Piven said her son has told her his young, single days might be over. She imagines her 39-year-old son with a family of his own someday. Jeremy loves children, she said, especially his 5-year-old niece Lili. Last weekend, he had plans to take her to the beach.
“Now we just have to find a partner for him,” Joyce said. “He’s waiting for his other half–I hope he finds her.”
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kmasterson@tribune.com
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RISING STAR
Jeremy Piven has been making movies and TV shows for more than 15 years. Here’s just a sampling of the films and shows he has appeared in.
1989
– “Say Anything”
1992
– “The Larry Sanders Show”
– “Singles”
1994
– “Ellen”
– “PCU”
1997
– “Grosse Pointe Blank”
1999
2000
– “Serendipity”
2001
2002
2003
– “Old School”
2004
– “Chasing Liberty”
– “Entourage”
