Caffeinated Clint
Vinnie Chase on TVs “Entourage”
In the kind of coincidence that hacks like myself just adore, one of Adrian Grenier’s first screen roles saw him playing a member of the entourage that tagged along with hot young movie star Brandon Darrow, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, in Woody Allen’s 1998 comedy “Celebrity”. (Fanboy trivia alert: Sam Rockwell was another member of Darrow’s posse!) Almost a decade later, Grenier is the one with the coterie of chums, playing up-and-coming A-lister Vincent Chase in the hit pay-TV series “Entourage”.
Dubbed “the next Johnny Depp”, Vince has been rising through the Hollywood ranks since “Entourage “premiered in 2004 – playing the title role in James Cameron’s comic-book blockbuster Aquaman earned him a lot of clout and a lot of money. And sharing the fame and the fortune are Vince’s best friends from the old neighbourhood: sensible Eric (Kevin Connolly), who doubles as Vince’s manager; good-natured moocher Turtle (Jerry Ferrara); and Vince’s half-brother Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), whose acting career is decidedly B-list.
The second half of “Entourage”’s third season is now airing on pay-TV station Arena, and it sees Vince and his crew facing a few changes – Vince firing long-time agent Ari (the scene-stealing Jeremy Piven) being the main one. With the abrasive, abusive, take-no-prisoners Ari unable to land Vince plum roles in a Colombian drug-dealing drama or a Ramones biopic, the star has taken his business elsewhere, signing with slinky, steely Amanda (Carla Gugino) and leaving Ari feeling like a spurned lover.
It’s not all shop talk on “Entourage”, however, with Vince and his friends frequently making the most of life in the L.A. fast lane – five-star restaurants, exclusive nightclubs, hedonistic jaunts to Las Vegas, sharp clothes, slick cars and, of course, a bevy of would-be actresses and models all too keen to indulge in the lifestyles of the rich and famous. For Grenier, though, life away from the business isn’t quite as lavish.
While the 30-year-old actor hasn’t quite hit the heights reached by his Entourage alter ego, his ongoing TV gig and his supporting role in last year’s box-office hit “The Devil Wears Prada” (as Anne Hathaway’s boyfriend) have certainly brought him to the public’s attention. And he has plenty of side projects to keep him busy – in addition to his acting gigs, he’s the drummer for The Honey Brothers (“the masters of Appalachian glam rock, according to the Village Voice,” he says) and a filmmaker (his 2002 documentary “Shot in the Dark” followed his efforts to re-establish a connection with his estranged father).
Grenier is also making a name for himself on the Hollywood scene after hours, but not due to any Lindsay Lohan-style carousing – the Los Angeles Times recently covered an anti-poverty “fundrager” the actor held at his home, a $100-a-head house party with the aim of raising money for an economic-development organisation. The get-together had its origins at one of the many unusual dinner parties (“at which the conversation would be structured around a single theme such as infidelity or quantum physics”, the Times reported) and book-club discussions Grenier has hosted.
It was a little more subdued at Grenier’s place when we spoke after an all-day “Entourage” shoot last week, although our conversation was interrupted by the unnerving sound of a pack of coyotes treating themselves to what the actor called “a neighbourhood-animal snack” outside his window. “It’s quite brutal,” was Grenier’s evaluation of the situation.
When it came to portraying a star like “Entourage”’s Vince, Grenier didn’t concern himself with an impression of any A-listers he’d encountered or worked with. “The thing about being a star is that you are your own individual and unique self – that’s what makes a star a star,” he says. “They’re just themselves. I wasn’t intimidated because I knew I didn’t have to imitate anybody. I didn’t have to be anything but me – the most charismatic me I could be. But beyond that, the show’s not really about a superstar personality. It’s about a guy who really loves his friends and really looks out for his friends. Beyond the business and beyond his career, that’s what he’s doing. That’s where I put my focus – how good and selfless a friend can Vincent be? When he is with his boys, he’s just like everyone else. He’s not special. And I think that was the key – there would always be hype surrounding Vince, except when he was with his crew.”
That said, Grenier initially had some trouble connecting with his character, if only because there was so little similarity between the way the actor and his alter ego lived their lives. “The lifestyle was quite different from mine at that time,” he admits. “The lifestyle depicted in the show was a lot more extravagant than my own personal lifestyle. I was also a lot more serious than Vince. And it took me a long time to find that part of myself that could just let go, live in the moment, be completely happy and have an infinite amount of levity. Once I discovered that, it changed my life, I’ll tell you. I found a certain joy in just loving life. Before, I was a lot more serious. I almost indulged in my own seriousness, and that’s something I don’t do so much anymore.”
Grenier feels that there’s “definitely a Zen quality” about the unflappable Vince, who takes both the highs and lows of his Hollywood existence in his stride. But much of that stems from the camaraderie that exists between “Entourage”’s core quartet. “The nature of the group is to support each other among all that adversity and treachery and superficiality in the business,” he says. “They manage to remain secure within their friendship.” And the fact that Vince is almost a supporting character on the show, with every character given their time in the spotlight, only enhances Entourage’s band-of-brothers ethos. “I always knew the show was called Entourage, it was never called Superstar or something like that. Vince has facilitated the entourage but the focus is on all of them.”
Over the course of his career, Grenier has worked with directors like Steven Spielberg and James Toback and appeared alongside the likes of DiCaprio, Colin Farrell and Bruce Willis. And he readily acknowledges that his observations of such people has influenced how he portrays Vince’s star persona. But it’s Entourage’s executive producer, Mark Wahlberg, who has provided the greatest inspiration. “I’d have to say that he was the one guy who really showed me how Vince should behave in public,” he says. “Mark’s a very cool, down-to-earth guy, and when he steps out in public or he’s in an industry situation he turns it on and does his job. His job is to adapt to the circumstances. But when it’s time to hang out with the boys, he takes a backseat and becomes one of the guys. He does that quite effortlessly. And he’s had years of experience doing that.”
Grenier’s own resume lists independent films and Hollywood crowd-pleasers, and there’s no doubt that the actor’s DiCaprio-meets-Benicio Del Toro looks could land him his share of roles in frothy, featherweight rom-coms. But after appearing alongside “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” star Melissa Joan Hart in the 1999 teen flick “Drive Me Crazy” (and alongside Britney Spears in a music video for the movie), Grenier seemed to turn his back on such material, choosing instead to work with the likes of Toback on “Harvard Man” and John Waters on “Cecil B. Demented”. Still one wonders if he ever had an Ari-like agent urging him to balance his indie projects with something a little more mainstream.
“Yeah, I don’t know if you’re ever really artistically compelled to do those projects,” Grenier laughs. “But I think as you become more savvy about the business, you recognise their importance. Because they play an important role – they bring a playfulness to life. For a while I simply wanted to do serious films but I eventually recognised the joy that can be derived from a good popcorn flick. There are business benefits as well.” Such as taking a supporting role in “The Devil Wears Prada”? “That’s definitely true. But it was a great learning experience, working with all these talented people, and a chance to sit back and do a lot of watching and observing without having to carry the project. It’s like being part of the ride. I’ve never had too much of an ego about what role I play in a production. I just love the art of filmmaking and love doing what I can to help a good movie come to fruition.”
Team player he may be, but “Entourage” has given Grenier a taste of stardom. “There’s a lot more free stuff,” he admits. “I keep getting sunglasses. I don’t wear sunglasses but I feel like I have to take them.” Still, he’s trying to keep both himself and his character relatively sane. “I think that Vince has a lot of me in him,” he says. “Vince’s attitude is he respects and understands his roots and where he came from. And while exploring the superficial world of Hollywood, he has to keep grounded. And he understands that if it all goes away, he could still go home to his friends and he could still be happy. Because that’s the most important thing.” So Adrian Grenier could turn his back on Hollywood? “Could I? Sure. I don’t want to. As Vince says about his toys: ‘I don’t need ‘em, but I like ‘em’.”
Entourage airs on Arena Sunday nights at 8.30pm.
– GUY DAVIS
