Jeremy Piven heavily hinted that Mark Wahlberg is the crucial part of making an Entourage reboot a reality.
The 57-year-old actor — who starred in the original hit HBO series, with Wahlberg serving as executive producer — was asked by TMZ photographer whether Wahlberg, 51, had the power to make a call and get the show going again.
‘If Mark and his team were really behind it, that would be some nice momentum,’ Piven responded, adding that it was just a matter of Wahlberg ‘stepping up.’
He then teased the Fear star for his notoriously busy schedule: ‘Listen, Mark wakes up, he gets about 11 minutes of sleep. He wakes up and he prays, he crushes the weights, he never stops.’
‘So, when he comes up for air, a little crack of time, just make that call to HBO and everybody wins,’ Piven, who played Ari Gold in the series, added.
When he was asked what his pitch to the star would be, he said, ‘I think Mark knows. Mark’s been around. He knows the reach of that show. We really connect with people.’
‘I see them because I’m performing on stages. So I see I real time that people really miss it,’ Piven, who recently spoke out on the sexual allegations leveled against him in 2017 and 2018, said.
‘I think Mark knows that as well. ‘Cause he hears it and he feels it. So it’s just a matter of him stepping up,’ he said of the Hollywood veteran.
When the photographer chimed in to say that the show could be lucrative for Wahlberg, Piven said, ‘Yes. I think Mark likes money, and here it comes if he likes it, if he wants it.’
‘We’ll do all the heavy lifting… and we love and celebrate him,’ he added.
Wahlberg started his journey as an executive producer with Entourage, which was loosely based on his own road to fame.
The show — which won six Emmys and a Golden Globe — ran from 2004 until 2011, and concluded with a movie in 2015.
Piven’s statement comes after Mark recently revealed he would support an Entourage reboot during an interview with Page Six.
‘I don’t know if that’s going to happen but I would definitely support it,’ he said.
‘I was always sad to see the show end,’ he went on, adding that he wasn’t sure if there were any serious conversations about about a reboot.
The Ted actor also praised the stars of the show Adrian Grenier (Vincent Chase), Kevin Connolly (Eric ‘E’ Murphy), Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) Kevin Dillon (Jonny ‘Drama’ Chase), and Piven.
‘They did an amazing job,’ he stated.
Wahlberg also recalled how he flew the guys to Vegas at the time to make sure they had the right chemistry.
‘Before we shot the pilot, I brought all the guys to Vegas… It was a bit of a chemistry thing, getting ready to come and cut loose.’
As for what he envisions the show’s reboot might look like, he stated it would probably be close to his own life.
‘It would look like an older group of guys probably doing things more like me, going to church and you know hopefully having families and getting up early and working out.
He added that the reboot ‘might not be as exciting as when they were running the night clubs and running all around Vegas.’
Talks of reboot started after the show’s creator, Doug Ellin, shared that he is shopping a new show with some of the original cast members.
‘We got a new show with a lot of them. Soon I hope #rambleon,” Ellin, 55, tweeted.
He added that he pitched a show idea and ‘thought we had a deal with a big production company but I don’t think that is going to happen.’
In 2021 Ellin told TMZ he needed Wahlberg to get behind a reboot project.
‘Adrian Grenier said he’s in, big news … I got all of them. So, yeah, I wouldn’t do it without the five, and [executive producer] Mark Wahlberg just needs to call HBO and make it happen, and all will be good.’
