Jeremy Piven Biography

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Piven is a lifelong friend of John Cusack, and the one-time roomies also frequently share the screen. Despite his scores of movie appearances, he is arguably best known for his role as Ari Gold in the HBO television series Entourage.Jeremy Piven was born on July 26, 1965, in New York City. His family moved while Piven was still a child, and Piven grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His parents, Byrne Piven and Joyce Hiller, were both actors and drama teachers, so Piven's decision to enter the world of acting shouldn t have come as a huge shock to anyone. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop, founded by his parents, before attending Drake University.Jeremy has been appearing in Hollywood films since his early twenties. His first appearance in a feature length film was in the 1986 film Lucas. Geared towards a teen audience, Lucas featured many actors who became huge Hollywood stars, including Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne Smith, and Winona Ryder.Since his first appearance, Jeremy has continued to work steadily, making appearances in a great number of films. Unlike other actors, he has never really experienced a period of time where he was unable to find work, often releasing several films in a single year. Piven's other appearances during the late 80s and early 90s include those in One Crazy Summer, with Demi Moore and frequent co-star John Cusack; Singles, written by Cameron Crowe and starring Bridget Fonda; Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon; and Heat, with an all star cast including screen legend Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, and Jon Voight. Despite a long list of appearances in films with high-profile Hollywood personalities, Piven was rarely given the spotlight during this period, often playing bit parts such as store clerks or policemen.While he did win some more substantial roles as time went on, such as those in Serendipity, with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, and Chasing Liberty, with Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode, it is his role on the HBO television series Entourage that has truly made Piven a household name. Produced by Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson, and co-starring Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, and Kevin Dillon, Entourage follows the experiences of a rising Hollywood star and his four friends as they experience a lifestyle completely unfamiliar to the boys who grew up in Queens, New York. Now in its third season, the show has been nominated for eight Emmys and six Golden Globes. Piven has also received multiple nominations for his role in the series, taking home an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2006.Although Entourage is keeping the star busy, he still finds time to appear in a surprising number of Hollywood films. His most recent projects include doing voice work for the animated film Cars, and starring in Smokin Aces with Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, and Alicia Keys.

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