I have been a big fan of the HBO series Entouragesince its inception, but I was very disappointed this past season. I’ve always been fascinated with the stories, the locale and of course, Jeremy Piven, who gives an amazing performance in virtually every episode. Even Kevin Connolly seems to have stepped up his game, so at first I couldn’t quite put my finger on the problem. However, I came to a realization when I recently watched Adrian Grenier in The Devil Wears Prada. On top of the fact that it was a horrible performance, it was like watching Vincent Chase as Anne Hathaway’s boyfriend. Adrian seemed unable to play the simple role in “Prada”, and you would think after three seasons he would begin to get a feel the character of Vince, but he seems to be getting worse as the series goes on.
I do find some small entertainment in the irony of a bad actor doing a bad job of playing a bad actor but it does the show a great disservice. Jerry Ferrara is more believable as Turtle than Adrian Grenier is as Vincent. Now Jerry isn’t necessarily a better actor (although I’m not ruling that out), but he is a real New Yorker. Mark Wahlberg must be kicking himself; he wanted to hold out for an actor who seemed more like typical guy from the East Coast, but in the end he went with Grenier.
Although Adrian did attend a school in New York, NYC is one of the worlds acting Mecca’s and there must be thousands of other actors capable of playing the feisty, strong-willed personalities found in the City. Furthermore, I’ve often wondered that if Vince is from Queens, why doesn’t he have a New York accent (which is a pretty hard accent to shed). The answer is because Adrian would have to possess an ounce of talent to speak using the accent. While Grenier was playing a bongo in theater class, there were kids in New York maneuvering their way around the pitfalls of the inner city. Obviously a good actor would be able to harness that Ora but Adrian couldn’t be more out of touch with the essence of New York if he had just crashed landed there in an alien space craft. At the end of the day it breaks my heart to watch one of my favorite shows go up in flames. I only hope they find a way to pull this former juggernaut out of the nose dive it’s heading in before it is too late.
* To my readers: I apologize for the New Mexico slip up the Internet Movie Data Base was mistaken on Adrian’s birth place. It seems he is from Brooklyn. This however does not change the fact that he is a horrible actor, in fact it makes it worse because he can’t even play a guy from New York. I do apologize again and I do thank you for your comments.
* Another message to readers leaving comments: It’s okay if we don’t agree that’s the beauty of this country. However I would like to clarify that I have not had any personal experiences with Adrian Grenier. My article is strictly based on a review on his acting performances. So please try to keep your comments relevant and please don’t make false accusations… Thank you for your comments.
I totslly agree!!! I love Entoursge, i lvoe allthe characters on the show. The only thing that ruins the whole show is ADRIAN GRENIER!. A horrible actor with no charisma to compensate is too lucky to play a lead role in a huge hit like Entourage!!!
He is from New York you fuckin dumbass. Do a little research before you write an article.
I for one disagree bro. I think Grenier pulls it off very fucking well jus because u had one bad experience with a fuking actor u refer a site that is pretty much giving him a bad name. your tellin me you never have a bad day and maybe can b an ass hole to some people? It doesnt make u a fuking asshole it makes u a normal fuking person. everyone can be an ass hole from time to time. u dont have to get all butt hurt just because he was an ass hole to you!
Dear Brooklyn I don’t know what these sensative fags are crying like little girls with skinned knees for like they have some vested interest in Adrian but I definitly agree with you.
Adrian Grenier couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. He’s horrible in Entourage and even worse in The Devil Wears Prada so stick to your guns. And the rest of you guys need to change your tampons and stop crying.
> Mark Wahlberg must be kicking himself; he wanted to hold out for an actor who was actually from the East Coast, but in the end he went with Grenier.
Yeah I totally agree with Eric’s comment. Adrian is from the East Coast so if I was you I would do some research before embarrasing yourself with the fact that you obviously just write shit without knowing what the hell your talking about. By the way I think he does a good job playing Vince.
Um to the comment above the guy said he was mistaken and it seems Adrian is from Brooklyn. Learn to read. And I agree he is an average actor.
To all you haters: blow me.
After you blow him, blow me.
Adrian might not be the best of a kind, but in total i found him very convincing in his role of Vincent Chase. But no one could ever beat Jeremy Piven … he is the Entourage – Star & God
He isnt a bad actor although I do agree that Vince is the weakest part of the show. And seriously Jerry and Brooklyn how fucking stupid are you? You are judging an actors ability based on The Devil Wears Prada? The only person who acted well in that movie was Meryl Streep and she is extremely well credentialed and talented already. Anne Hathaway didnt do well in that movie and now shes up for an Oscar. So before either of you hacks/douchebags try to judge this guys career based on a shit movie, LOOK AT HIS ENTIRE BODY OF WORK. If you still think he sucks then so be it.
What are you doing watching Devil Wears Prada? Highly suspect…
I think Adrian does a satisfactory job of playing a vacuous self-absorbsed ninny TBH.
Just because he doesn’t talk like he’s got a mouth full of chewing gum doesn’t preclude him from coming from NYC. If he was bang into acting from an early age, like the show suggests, then the accent would have been trained out by any half-decent drama class.
I just gave a stimulus package to Vince so that he can go back to acting school.
You guys are fucked . I’m too busy looking at Ari’s wife to notice. She’s mint.
I don’t think he is as bad as you are claiming, but I’d agree that his performance is below average.
Perhaps we could consider the arc of the series as a whole. Now that the show’s got it made, it’s easy to nitpick. We demand more, we see the little details, get everything under the microscope. I agree Grenier’s performance may be lacking, and this shows in the ‘Playing With Fire’ episode. When the director pushes Vince to the limit in the hanging-from-the-trees sequence, he gets his chance to blow the audience away with a heartbreaking performance (notwithstanding the director’s insensibility). Sadly, his performance was bland, and we viewers didn’t get whether the director is a fanatic despot or Vince Chance does not really have what it takes. Bottom line, a fantastic, ground-breaking show, and no-one is ‘garbage’. And BOOM, baby! Piven rules…
it’s so easy for any to criticize the acting of any actor. But who gives a shit really. At the end of the day your the bitching about his acting ability and he’s the one walking to the bank with a fat check. To be honest if people are going to tlak crap, it shou come from some who is an actor and not some unknown critic who thinks his opnion matters.
it’s so easy for any to criticize the acting of any actor. But who gives a shit really. At the end of the day your the one bitching about his acting ability and he’s the one walking to the bank with a fat check. To be honest if people are going to talk crap, it should come from some who is an actor and not some unknown critic who thinks his opnion matters.
There’s a lot of hating on Adrian Grenier up in here.
First of all, I think that Grenier has come a long way since Entourage premiered. He’s far less “wooden” than he used to be and I think that with every passing season he seems to zero in more on who Vince should be. This is not to say he’s the best actor out there, but I don’t think he deserves the mud-slinging that’s going on in this thread. I think he does a terrific job as Vince. Personally, I find Kevin Connelly to be the least convincing actor on the show. His body language is awful, he always looks awkward, and he’s clearly always waiting for his cue to speak, and yet I still love him in the role of “E”. To be fair, Jeremy Piven really raises the bar for acting on that show – the man is nothing short of brilliant. It’s simply not fair to compare anyone else in the show to him. Rather than critiquing actors I prefer to critique the production as a whole, and Entourage is among the finest shows out there. I am very satisfied with what they’ve brought to the plate thus far.
Furthermore, it’s important to realize that an actor’s performance relies HEAVILY on a director’s influence. Television is especially tough, because directors are hired on a contract basis and/or based on their availabilty. In theory, a television show that runs for one 24 episode season could potentially see 24 different directors, and like actors, directors have different strengths. For instance, if you look at episodes directed by Julian Farino you’ll see beautiful cinematography and awesome steadycam shots that go on for 2-3 minutes without cutting. These shots make for incredible flow and fluidity, but are extremely taxing on actors who have to keep track of their blocking, their position in frame, and remembering 3 minutes worth of dialogue NOT TO MENTION actually delivering those lines.
There’s so much more to being an actor than any of you, or even myself, realizes. The show is still running, and you clearly still watch it, so there’s gotta be something there that you’ve latched on to and that keeps you watching. Now all you have to do is get over the things that get under your skin, because the show would not be the same without any of those guys. It’s an excellent ensemble cast, and you guys are just being fucking snobs.
Well said Dustin. It is called “Entourage” for a reason. It is an ensemble cast and they all play off eachother well. As for Lloyd…he is fantastic…as for Ari, he is better than fantastic. Can’t wait for the new season…
Over time, I’d give Grenier less and less lines, so that skinny bitch with nice tits, (Mrs. Gold), would get more lines. Then, the whole show would be be more interesting. LOL