Mrs. Ari, the fearless wife of fictional Hollywood agent Ari Gold, doesn’t even have an official first name. But Perrey Reeves, the actress who plays her on HBO’s “Entourage,” isn’t complaining.
The series, after all, is about four young guys trying to make it in the land of film and money. Her character, who comes on particularly strong in Season 3, which began last Sunday, is an extension of her obnoxious, neurotic husband, Reeves said.
“I love it. That’s how the boys see me,” she said.
In Seasons 1 and 2, the male-dominated show was full of stereotypical scantily clad, big-breasted Hollywood women, whom the guys–Vince, Eric, Johnny Drama, Turtle and Ari–liked to describe in graphic terms. Season 3 opened with the four members of the entourage in a sidewalk cafe, ranking female passers-by. But this season, Mrs. Ari and other female characters, such as Eric’s girlfriend, Vince’s mother and Ari’s new colleagues, also come on strong as independent-minded, roost-ruling women.
“It really balances it out,” Reeves said.
The show started out as a “guy show” but now “we’re trying to find more time for women,” said head writer Doug Ellin. “We want to show that these guys are not sexist guys.”
Mrs. Ari, a former actress and trust-fund baby, “has clear boundaries and is very organized,” Reeves said. “She loves Ari so much. She’s there to make sure he doesn’t do anything foolish. They’re ambitious, but in a mutually supportive way.”
At home, she’s in charge, a fact that reveals Ari as a big dog who’s all bark.
“When you see [Ari] say stuff and see his wife call him on it, you see he’s all talk,” said Ellin, who admits his own wife, Melissa, provides material for Mrs. Ari.
With Mrs. Ari, actor Jeremy Piven gets to show Ari’s softer, more vulnerable side, which fans will see more of in Season 3.
“We feel we’re really a nice family,” Reeves said. “You never see us with nannies. We actually do our job.”
