Entourage (television series)

Characters

• Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) is a young Hollywood movie star described in season one as potentially the best young actor of his generation. His breakout role was as the lead in the film Head On, co-starring Jessica Alba. As a follow on to "Head On", in season one, he turned down a big budget studio film, Matterhorn, to work instead on an independent film set in his hometown of Queens called Queens Boulevard. While the mediocre, studio film would have paid him four million dollars, he turns it down on the advice of his best friend and soon-to-be manager, Eric Murphy, for in the independent film with a great script but only a $60,000 payday. At the beginning of season two, filming for Queens Boulevard is complete, and the film is well received – it gets into the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Building on his career momentum and the quality of this film, he is offered the lead in a potential blockbuster film, Aquaman, which is to be directed by none other than the master of big budget films, James Cameron. Vincent talks often throughout the series about how he and his friends that comprise his entourage, Eric, Turtle, and his half-brother Johnny 'Drama' Chase, are "living the life" after growing up with little money. Thus, he is eager to share the financial spoils of his current stardom with his closest friends – in fact he calls them his family. While it would seem at first glance that his friends are just leeches, on another level, one can see that the bonds of friendship rise above individual greed, and they really try to protect and insulate him from the real sharks in Hollywood. In particular Eric tends to display this trait. The other important players in Vincent's life are his agent, Ari Gold, his publicist, Shauna, and the love of his life, Mandy Moore.
• Eric "E" Murphy (Kevin Connolly) is Vincent's manager and best friend since they were six years old. Vincent credits Eric for pushing him to become an actor when they were in junior high school. At Vincent's request, Eric moved to Los Angeles from Queens, where he was working as a manager at a Sbarro pizzeria. Feeling the increasing pressures outside of just acting, Vincent wanted his best friend to help him with business and logistical decisions. It is quite evident that Vincent trusts Eric implicitly and that Eric actually places Vincent's interests at the forefront. In season one, Eric serves in the manager capacity informally until the finale at which time it is made official with a ten percent commission on everything Vincent makes. While this new financial bias could potentially skew Eric's actions, his devotion to his best friend transcends the money. This often puts him at odds with Vincent's more avaricious agent, Ari. Although not a Hollywood insider, Eric's combination of common sense, instincts, and luck helps him navigate the treacherous show business waters with remarkable skill. For example, "Queens Boulevard" gets rave reviews and increases Vincent's showbiz stock. Unlike his friend, Eric tends to pursue lasting relationships with women, although he is not above the occasional one night stand. He dated Ari's assistant, Emily, briefly. He spent much of season one and part of season two working through a relationship with his girlfriend, Kristen, that ended finally after she admitted she cheated while he was in New York filming Queens Boulevard. He is currently in a potential relationship with Sloan, the daughter of Ari's boss at the agency.
• Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon) is Vince's half-brother. He is a has-been C-list actor, best known for his starring role in a hit television series, "Viking Quest". In season one, we find out that he has not had an acting gig for seven years. Instead, he is Vincent's cook and fitness consultant. He is a pompous, self-important character who constantly brings up bit roles he has played over the years such as guest appearances on Melrose Place and Nash Bridges and tries to give acting advice to Vincent who doesn't actually need any. He is always looking to capitalize on Vincent's success which pays off with a supporting role in Queens Boulevard and a bit part in a flashy commercial that Vincent does. He lives with Vincent, who finances most of his life. Athough he occasionally finds his little brother's charity emasculating, he almost never turns it down.
• Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) like Eric, is a childhood friend of Vincent's from Queens. Turtle is Vincent's driver and scrounger, usually for marijuana. He brings street smarts and an urban flavor to the group. He is the scheming id persona in the group, always ready to make the inappropriate comment and in the constant quest for free money and sex. Despite his parasitic relationship with Vince, his loyalty and friendship temper his baser qualities. In season two, Eric's car is stolen by two friends as a means of getting their rap demo tape into the hands of a music producer who has the exact same car. Loving the music, Turtle gets a track into "Queens Boulevard" and agrees to manage the promising musician played by real life rapper Saigon.
• Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is Vince's agent and "one of the most powerful men in Hollywood". A workaholic with a quick temper, constant sarcasm and frenetic physical presence, Ari is one of the program's most popular characters. In particular, viewer like the fact that he has never met a racist or sexist comment he didn't like. Ari and Eric are the primary influencers in Vincent's life. But it is clear that Vincent trusts and follows Eric's advice much more than he does Ari's. This makes for a tense relationship between Eric and Ari. While neither one particularly likes the other, they realize that they are in a marriage of necessity. Towards the end of season two, we discover that the agency that Ari runs is actually owned by a man named Terrance who has emerged from retirement seemingly due to his desire to replace Ari as Vincent's manager. The conflict that arises between Ari and Terrance reaches a boiling point in season two and leads to Ari being fired from the agency. Ari's character is reportedly based on the real-life Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, who once represented Jeremy Piven.
• Other Characters include Shauna, Vince's publicist; Kristen, Eric's ex-girlfriend; Emily, Ari's former assistant (now James Cameron's assistant) and Eric's ex-girlfriend; Lloyd, Ari's current assistant; Terrance, Ari's former partner and former boss; and Terrence's daughter Sloan, in whom Eric is romantically interested.