The actor and stand-up comedian Jeremy Piven has stood in front of a live audience hundreds, if not thousands, of times — but no performance was tougher than the one he gave in late January.
The Evanston native bid farewell to his 94-year-old mother, the legendary acting teacher Joyce Piven.
“When I got up and spoke about her at her funeral, it was the toughest day of my life, but stand-up allowed me to figure out how to navigate that space,” Piven told the Chicago Sun-Times in late May. “And while I was crying, I could make them laugh and it allowed me to breathe. And it allowed them to breathe.”
Joyce Piven was, he says, “my life,” as well as his acting teacher since eighth grade. So when Piven is in town June 6 for two shows at The Vic Theatre, his mom’s spirit will be part of the act, perhaps, as she lovingly urges him to fully “commit” to a line from the HBO show “Entourage” that has her son’s character, Ari Gold, ranting about sexual devices and spewing other vulgarities.
“Running lines with my mom and saying everything I said as Ari Gold to her face was true and I might as well let the audience know that,” Piven said.
Even though Piven is probably best known for his Ari character, it’s clear he’d like to talk about something other than “Entourage,” which ran from 2004 to 2011. That’s fine because this reporter grew up in London, a place Piven knows well, having studied Shakespeare at the National Theatre and done stand-up in the United Kingdom. In addition, Piven played the title role in the PBS series “Mr. Selfridge,” a period drama about a tycoon who made his fortune at Marshall Field’s before opening up what would become one of London’s great departments stores, Selfridges, in 1909.
“I learned the hard way how important it is to have advertising behind you. When you have none, like PBS has, which is a great station, you can really go quietly into the night unfortunately,” Piven said.
England — along with Chicago and cities in Australia — is where his stand-up lands best, he says.
“I’m doing a bit where I unpack while I’m doing (Sylvester) Stallone doing Shakespeare. And it lands, ... and boy does it land here,” Piven said.
Turbulent times combined with a constantly updating news cycle make it a great time for stand-up, the actor says.
“There’s something really kind of beautiful about connecting with an audience and unpacking ideas in real time,” Piven said.
The veteran of stage and dozens of movies and TV shows says he’s most proud of his work in 2023’s “The Performance,” a period movie his sister, Shira Piven, directed. The movie is based on a 2002 Arthur Miller short story. Jeremy Piven plays an underemployed Jewish tap dancer, who, in hopes of landing more consistent work, agrees to a series of performances in Europe in the 1930s — including a show in Berlin for Adolf Hitler.
Piven’s mother handed the short story to her son about 15 years ago. It took almost as long for Piven to learn to tap dance for the role. Piven’s father, actor-director Byrne Piven, didn’t live long enough to see “Entourage.” But Joyce Piven got to see her son’s work in “The Performance.”
“She was incredibly proud and just really wanted to see it come to fruition. The whole thing is because of her and in honor of her and, ironically, it’s the best performance of my life,” Piven said.
Whenever he’s in Chicago, Piven says he likes to get lost in the city, although he usually ends up at the Chicago Theatre and the old Marshall Field’s building. He jokingly refers to himself as a “wandering Jew.” He’ll take in a Cubs game while here. And what else?
“I need to go immediately to Oak Street Beach, jump on a bike and start riding, heading in either direction. If I end up in Evanston, that’s incredible,” he said. “The lakefront is like no other.”
