Jeremy Piven is ready for his close-up, so to speak. After some 20 years of paying his dues in scores of second-banana movie roles — but more likely owing to his newfound stardom as acerbic agent Ari Gold on HBO’s “Entourage” — Piven finally finds himself front and center on the big screen, replete with solo above-the-title billing and a prominent pose on the poster.
As if used-car salesmen don’t get enough of a bum rap, from the producer (Adam McKay) of the lowbrow comedies “Talladega Nights” and “Step Brothers” comes “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.”
Piven, 44, plays Don Ready, a “renegade liquidator” hired to bail out failing auto dealerships. Lots of raunchy antics abound, of a sort that almost makes “The Hangover” look like “Days of Wine and Roses.”
It might be pushing it to compare the character to the motivational real estate guru Alec Baldwin played in David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” — except it’s such a nice segue into the controversy Piven is facing with the Actor’s Equity union for quitting last season’s Broadway revival of Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow.”
At an arbitration hearing in June, Piven reiterated his claims of mercury poisoning (from eating too much sushi).
Just as Ready is prone to hitting the road and “selling the metal,” Piven recently visited Atlanta on a publicity tour for “The Goods.”
Q: What drew you to this script?
A: There were so many parallels between me and Don Ready, I felt I could relate and really step into it. I think I had a lot of similar personal experiences to bring to the table, if only because I'm also a guy who's been on the road most of my life and who probably needs to start thinking about settling down. He just felt so much closer to me than someone like Ari.
Q: "Entourage" is a smart comedy; this one, not so much. As an actor, do you approach the two styles any differently?
A: Either way, our job is to entertain. Is "The Goods" lowbrow and raunchy? Yes. But if people see it and laugh, that's really all we could ask for. I'm really proud of this movie. If I wasn't, or didn't think it was funny, God, would I ever be in hell right now trying to sell it.
Q: Is this your first starring role in a major movie?
A: Can you believe it? I won't lie. I look at the poster and think, "Wow, I'm at the forefront." I've loved being a journeyman, a working actor, and it's taken me 40 movies to get here. Even in "Entourage," I'm the last actor listed on the call sheet. I'm No. 5, behind a guy named Turtle, you know? Sometimes, you have to put your ego aside and take one for the team like that. That's how my career has always been. At a certain point, though, you want something more.
Q: What's the status of your Equity arbitration?
A: Like I said, I grew up in the theater and come from a family whose credo was "The show must go on." That's how I've always lived my life, so this has been a real anomaly. The fact is, I was in the hospital with a mercury level of 57, with my doctors telling me the highest they'd ever seen was 28. They weren't going to let me back on stage. They all testified, but we're still waiting for the decision. Whatever happens, I'm just trying to move on.
Q: Have you sensed any backlash? After winning three Emmys in a row for "Entourage," you weren't even nominated this year.
A: I mean, I just feel so lucky. Here I am promoting my new movie, in the midst of the best year yet of "Entourage," so I think if I complained about anything, I ought to be put in actor's jail, forced to watch "Biodome," you know?
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