HBO
Entourage is celebrating its 20th anniversary on Thursday, July 18 — feel old yet?
The show, starring Adrian Grenier as Hollywood heartthrob Vinny Chase, became an HBO success story not long after its 2004 premiere. For eight seasons, viewers watched as Vinny and the gang — his brother and somewhat failed actor, Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon), his manager and best friend, Eric “E” Murphy (Kevin Connolly), his childhood friend, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) — wreaked havoc throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Not to mention, it’s loosely based on the early days of Mark Wahlberg’s whirlwind rise to fame, the actor was even named as an executive producer on the series.
Entourage came to an end in 2011, but the cast reprised their roles for a movie of the same name in 2015. (The cast has a lot of thoughts about that film, they told Us Weekly exclusively.)
“My most cherished memory is knowing that we brought friends and families together,” Grenier told Us when contacted about the 20-year milestone. “I remember I spoke to an elderly woman who thanked me because Entourage was her favorite time she got to spend time with her granddaughter every week. That’s something to be proud of.”
He’s not the only Entourage cast member who reminisced on the HBO classic with Us — and most of the show’s stars are even ready to get back on set all these years later.
Keep scrolling where these actors think their characters would be now, if they’re down for a reboot and more:
Jerry Ferrara (Turtle)
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Would They Return: Ferrara told Us he would “carefully” consider his return to the role of Turtle if a reboot opportunity were to arise. “It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” he continued, comparing the experience to “a rock and roll band” getting asked to do one more tour.
“Of course I would do it. So much has changed since even the movie came out in 2015, I just would be so curious to see what the take would be. Obviously, it would be such a different reboot,” Ferrara continued. “I would be all for it. If nothing else [it’s] feeling nostalgic. I just really do feel like there’s more to the story.”
Where Their Character Would Be: “Turtle had the longest road to growth from when the show started to where the movie ended,” he recalled. In the early seasons, his character had “no motivation, was perfectly happy to be the best friend of a famous guy.” As the show progressed, Turtle started to invest and became “very wealthy.”
“I think he definitely lost all his money in a crypto NFT scam. That’s my take,” Ferrara said of where his character is now. “I think however much money he had, 50 million [or] 100 million. I think he went in early on some kind of NFT or some kind of cryptocurrency and lost all his money and he is right back where he kind of started in the shell.”
Did the Movie Give Closure: Ferrara feels as though the movie “really didn’t” offer him any closure but “the show’s ending” did.
“I really did feel like when we finished the show. It really was the way to go,” he explained. “I wasn’t reluctant to do the movie, but my point of view is always what more are we going to do to these characters? I always felt it was the hardest with the Vince character and that was the engine that drove the show because even though the show was about entourage, the Vince character was what drove it and we took that character so high and then low and then high again. So that was always the tricky part. If anything, the movie opened the door for me to know there’s actually more to explore and, maybe, it’s not through the Vince character as much.”
Kevin Connolly (Eric “E” Murphy)
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Would They Return: Connolly told Us that anyone who wouldn’t want to return should get their “head examined” because the show was such a “glorious ride” for all the stars.
“When we ended the movie run in London, when we walked off that blue carpet or whatever it was in London at the premiere. That was it,” he added. “That was the last time we were all in one place, like, standing in the safe in one place together. That’s crazy. [Then] life gets in the way.”
Where Their Character Would Be: Connelly thinks that E would be living his best life as a dad and is “100 percent” on board with the theory that his character and Sloan are married with several kids.
“As you get older that just feels like that’s what would have happened,” he said.
Did the Movie Give Closure: “We were either gonna do another season or the movie,” he recalled. While the movie was a “fun” experience for Connelly, breaking his leg put “a damper” on the experience.
“Everybody just seemed comfortable and happy,” he said of the film’s set. “We got back together. … We had a blast.”
Kevin Dillon (Johnny “Drama” Chase)
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Would They Return: Dillon told Us he would “100 percent” return to his role as Drama.
“I’m guessing that everyone would do it. I mean, that show was so much fun. I never had more fun on any project, including all the movies. I thought I had such a great time,” he continued. “The character was so much fun so I would totally embrace it. I’ve been saying it. Nobody’s probably said it more than me. I posted on my Instagram. I kept saying we need to reboot. We need to reboot.”
Where Their Character Would Be: When the Entourage franchise ended, Drama was “doing pretty well” Dillon said, referring to the character’s Golden Globe win that ended the series. (Victory, anyone?)
“I’m guessing knowing Johnny Drama, he’s kind of self-destructive,” Dillon continued. “He’d probably put his foot in his mouth, or he could be struggling again. To be honest with you, I love a struggling Johnny Drama.”
Did the Movie Give Closure: Dillon admitted the movie “kind of” gave him closure but wants more for Drama.
“He went out winning a Golden Globe. I kind of fought for that a bit too, because they went back and forth on that script — I kind of pitched that to [creator] Doug [Ellin],” the actor shared. “He had it in the script and then he pulled it out because there was other things going on. Then they put it back in.”
“I still feel that there’s so much more to be done. Because this show has legs and it ended too soon. There is lots more to do. And everyone wanted more, people still want more.”
Emmanuelle Chriqui (Sloan McQuewick)
Emmanuelle Chriqui. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Would They Return: Chriqui and the Entourage boys are on the same page when it comes to a reboot.
“If that were a reality, million percent I would. There’s no question. I don’t know how real that is. But that has been something that’s sort of been floating around for years,” she told Us. “Honestly, I wish that there would be a reboot. I think it would be so welcomed.”
Where Their Character Would Be: The actress is in the mindset that Sloan and E would still be together — and Us agrees.
“I think they would have finally figured it out,” she said. “I think they would have had a couple of kids and been like, look, we’re stuck with each other, babe.”
Did the Movie Give Closure: “I don’t know that it gave me so much closure,” she admitted. “When we all got back together and to film it again, it just felt like, ‘How is this over? How can this be?’ Because as soon as we were back in it, it didn’t feel like five years had already passed.”
She added, “I guess there’s closure in the sense that it was nice to have had such an epic run of the show, and then be able to button it up with a movie. I think that’s just very special.”
Perrey Reeves (Melissa Gold)
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Would They Return: The actress played Mrs. Ari — and yes, her name was Melissa — told Us that the cast “all fantasize” about a reboot.
“I always said that we should have done a Mr. and Mrs. Ari spinoff right away,” she added. “Yes, I would love to. Of course we’d love to get back together. That’d be really fun.”
Where Their Character Would Be: She shared multiple theories with Us about the character’s whereabouts. The first was, Mrs. Ari returned to her role as a soap opera star as the “loved but hated character.” Her second idea is that Mrs. Ari “steps in … basically takes charge of the business” over Ari.
“She was so capable and smart and underplayed, totally kept everything together. I think the more fun one is the soap opera revitalize,” Reeves said. “She’s on the cover of Soap Opera Digest to Ari’s horror looking more gorgeous than she ever did. Hamming it up on a soap.”
Why the Movie Didn’t Give Closure: Reeves said there was “absolutely no” closure because she wants the option to return open.
“We shot the last scene on the last day, which is rare, you always shoot things out of sequence, so the entire cast was there and the plane taking off and all that stuff. It was so emotional because it was nine years of our lives all spending time together,” she recalled. “That to me, because we were able to be all together at the end, sort of gave us some kind of conclusion.”
Constance Zimmer (Dana Gordon)
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Would They Return: “I loved being Dana Gordon, but it really depends on the story, because we all know it would have to be adjusted tremendously based on the changes that have occurred in the world and in the business,” she admitted to Us.
Where Their Character Would Be: Dana would be “killing it,” Zimmer said. “She is definitely calling the shots running a studio or a network.”
Did the Movie Give Closure: “I was excited that Dana was a part of the movie, but selfishly I wish she could’ve done something more impactful,” the actress explained.
With reporting by Sarah Jones
