Celebrity

John Cusack allegedly didn’t react too kindly to Jeremy Piven’s newfound success in ‘Entourage,’ which somewhat soured their friendship.

Published on October 19, 2022

Actor Jeremy Piven became a popular name after starring in the hit HBO show Entourage. But the actor believed the attention and recognition he received from the series caused a rift between him and John Cusack.

How ‘Entourage’ changed Jeremy Piven’s life

Piven received much praise for his portrayal as the abrasive and sharp-tongued Ari Gold in Entourage. Ari was a character based off of real-life Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel. Piven’s performance earned the actor 4 Emmy nominations and 3 wins. But before Entourage, Piven was already a working actor with a couple of small parts in several movies over the years. So when he landed the popular television series, Piven confided it gave his career a significant boost. One that was several decades in the making.

“It’s never what it appears to be. I was never the popular vote, was always a scrapper. I was 40 movies into my career when I got Entourage. I won the Fresh Face of the Year Award at 37. When I accepted my award, I said, ‘Thank you, but there’s nothing fresh about my face,'” he once said in an interview with Brobible.

His performance as Ari was so convincing that some in the industry truly felt Piven was similar to his character in real life.

“The feedback I got from my agent was, ‘Some people see that performance and they go, It’s too real, there’s no way that’s acting.’ Then what is it? Every word has been written by Doug Ellin. Every single word. Your job is to make the written word look improvisational,” he said.

Jeremy Piven’s ‘Entourage’ success caused a rift between him and John Cusack

Piven was once Cusack’s childhood friend who appeared in a couple of Cusack movies in bit parts. Their acting credits together included features like Serendipity and Grosse Pointe Blank. But after Piven’s Entourage success, the actor felt a shift in their friendship. Piven pointed out that Cusack wasn’t all that supportive towards his friend’s newfound accomplishments.

“I was always proud of him,” Piven once told America’s Best Life (via Contact Music) about Cusack. “Always. It just says so much about a person if he has space for other people’s success. I have always been so proud of my friends’ success. I own that proudly because I come by it naturally. I was raised on that spirit of collaboration.”

Piven felt the attitude Cusack took about his accomplishments could only spell disaster.

“You start getting into trouble in life when you start comparing and contrasting your life to anyone else’s,” he added.

However, Cusack would later release a statement through People in 2007 that Piven was mistaken.

“It’s quite the contrary. I am very happy for Jeremy. I wish him the best and I always have,” Cusack said.

Jeremy Piven and John Cusack remained friends

A bit has changed for Piven after his Entourage days. It’s been noted that the actor has been performing more comedy shows over the years. His relationship with Cusack might have changed as well, as the two might have mended their friendship behind the scenes. In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Piven confided that the two were still close even after so many years. Piven also asserted both he and Cusack were fortunate to be a part of each other’s lives.

“Once you have such history with someone, then yeah. I think we were all lucky to find each other,” Piven said.

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