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 Entourage's Jerry Ferrara talks about the LA lifestyle, free sneakers and the joys of room service. HBO Congratulations on the show and getting picked up for another season.
Oh, thank God. When I heard that, I did the same dance that Ari does in the Sundance episode. I just went crazy - it was great. It's too much fun to stop right now, it really is. HBO So you're looking forward to going back to work for next season? FERRARA Honestly, I wish I had work tomorrow. I hate not working and I hate being off. Now that I've actually tasted steady work and seen how much fun it is, I'm dying to get back to it. We wrapped up a month and a half ago, and I've been looking at some other jobs, but there's just nothing that has really interested me yet. I'm a little spoiled now, I think. HBO You'll get some time before heading back, though? FERRARA I'm guessing we won't have to start getting ready till the beginning of next year again. We won't stop airing till October and then you know you want to give Doug Ellin and all those other guys enough time to keep these scripts amazing as they are so. Probably next year, early next year. HBO Tell us a little about the arc that Turtle has been living in the second season. FERRARA Well, the first season was great, but you know it's hard when you're dealing with five characters to get a lot of story equally for everybody. And this season they've just done an unbelievable job at that. And I think Turtle's really grown up a little bit. I mean he's still the jokester, horny, girl- chasing guy that he is, but he was dealing with a lot more responsibility when Eric became the manager. So I think now everyone's starting to see what Turtle actually does. He's the go-to guy. You know, you need something, he'll get it for you - whether it's legal or illegal. HBO It seems that your character has gotten a little more story, not just screen time, but a little more back story and character development. FERRARA Oh, definitely, without a doubt. I actually think I've been on the screen less but the stuff that I'm on the screen for now has more of a purpose, which is phenomenal to have. Everybody kind of has their thing on the show, a job or at least what they do in day-to-day life. This season, for me it was big when I came through with all that food from New York. That shows you why I'm there. HBO So how about yourself, have you started to live a little of the high living LA lifestyle yet? FERRARA Well, I wouldn't say that I'm living the Hollywood lifestyle. It's just not really my style at all. I'm kind of a homebody. I'm good with staying home and watching movies and just hanging out. But definitely it's a lot easier to get into clubs, let's just say that.
HBO But you've been out there for a while now? FERRARA Oh yeah, I've been out in LA for about five years now. So I kind of know the lay of the land. I didn't like it initially but now I love it, I gotta say. It's probably because I'm working, but I love it. HBO What's the best thing about living out there? FERRARA I gotta say being outside. Besides work, which is what I love doing, the weather is just so good out here. Literally you just wake up and it's hard to be in a bad mood. You know the sun is always shining. Everything's just a lot - I don't know - prettier out here. Girls included. HBO You must be enjoying a few of the fringe benefits of being a working actor in LA. FERRARA Well you know what it is, it's just weird because when you're broke, you're with the same pair of sneakers for two years. But once you get a little bit of money and you start doing well, everyone sends you s*** for free. I still can't really grasp this concept. I mean, I haven't paid for a pair of sneakers in a year and a half. I can't understand it. And I have like two hundred pairs now, so I give some to my friends. It's just unbelievable. Four years ago I was wearing the same Nikes, cleaning them up with Clorox bleach cleaner. HBO And now you've got enough money to buy your own shoes. FERRARA Yeah. And I don't have to, that's the thing. I stole all my clothes from wardrobe and I'm good. HBO So you feel like you live a pretty quiet life. Is there anybody out there you think really has the LA thing nailed? FERRARA I wouldn't say they have the LA thing nailed, but Kevin Connolly has been living in LA for quite some time. He's not trapped in that Hollywood lifestyle either, but Kevin just knows everybody. He literally knows everybody in LA. And he's definitely seen a lot of that stuff, I'm sure. HBO So is he kind of the ringleader when you guys go out? FERRARA Well, he's not the ringleader, but if we're looking to go out, we're like, Kevin, where should we go? Or, what's good? He's been to every restaurant and every club. He knows LA, so he's the guy to ask. HBO Were you surprised that you ended up liking those guys? FERRARA Before the show I was worried about it, because you never know when you're meeting someone for the first time what they're gonna be like, or if you're gonna get along. But the minute we met, we started talking and it was just on. We all had a very similar upbringing. We're all from somewhere in New York, and that's a whole different way of life than LA. So we had that in common right off the bat. And they're just such good guys, they're just real people. We have a ball when we work. So I wasn't surprised but I was relieved, let's just say. HBO On the show, there's a lot of talk about making it, how far you'd be willing to go and if you could give it all up. Was there a point for you when you were wondering if this acting thing was going to work out, and what you'd do if not? FERRARA You know, I gotta say, and this is a truthful answer, never once did I ever think about packing my stuff up and going home. That just wasn't an option for me, because I wouldn't be satisfied until I was working. This is the only thing that I think would make me ultimately happy. I'm sure that I could do a lot of other things that I would be satisfied with. But this really gives me such a fulfillment that seems like nothing I've ever had before. I'm a huge sports fan, and I always equate everything in my life to sports. I equate working on this show to playing shortstop for the Yankees. That's how good it is for me. HBO [LAUGHS] I'm glad that you're still staying with the New York teams at least. FERRARA Oh, absolutely. I'm not a frontrunner. I know I have my Yankees, who are a great team, though not doing that great now. And I'm a Knick fan so I get beat up around basketball season. But I go down with the ship. HBO A lot of the other guys pointed to you and said, the thing about Jerry is, the guy you see on screen, he's always smiling, he's a great guy, he's really easy to get along with. And he's the same guy that he is when you're just hanging out. Do people expect you to be like Turtle when they meet you? FERRARA Oh, absolutely. I actually think people are a little disappointed [LAUGHS]. I mean I am very much like that guy in the sense that that I'm from New York, I have the same group of friends from when I was a kid, and if you're my good friend, there's nothing that I won't do for you. I'll do anything in the world. I'll die for you. But I'm different in that I'm not as outgoing or as outspoken as Turtle. I'm definitely way more shy than he is, especially with women. If I'm first meeting you, you'll think I'm just this shy, quiet kid. But once you get to know me, then the Turtle comes out. HBO Do you find it hard to be an actor if you're shy? FERRARA No, because it's a whole different kind of shyness. With acting, I'm not shy because it's almost like an excuse to do these things. If I have to go hit on some girl and make a complete fool out of myself, which is something I'd never do in real life - just walk up to some girl and ask her to have sex - I'd never, ever do that in real life. Ever. But you know as an actor, doing it on a TV show, it's just entertainment. It's like a get out of jail free card. [LAUGHTER] So it's kind of liberating. I live a little vicariously through the character. But I'm definitely fifty-fifty split down the middle about how much I'm like him. HBO Have people been coming out of the woodwork since you've been on Entourage?
Well, not really. There are some situations where people that you vaguely knew back in high school, or a few years ago, will invite you over to dinner, and I don't even know where they live. But it's not a crazy situation where they're coming out of the woodwork. Every now and then I'll hear, "I saw so-and-so the other day, he said to tell you hello and we've got to hang out." I'm like, who? Honestly I don't know who that is, I'm not even being a jerk. I really don't know who that is. [LAUGHS] HBO Do you get back to New York very often? FERRARA I do. I was actually just there for about a month and a half and I'm probably gonna go back again in about two weeks. I don't get back as much as I would like, because you really do have to put some time in LA in order to find the good stuff to work on. But I'm always back at least three, four times a year. You know my whole family, all my friends are still back in Brooklyn. So as long as they're there, I'll be there. HBO So you're scouting around for interesting work? FERRARA Yeah, I'm just going through the motions again. I've definitely been allotted good opportunities since this show. People are more familiar with me and with my work, so things are a little bit easier. But I really just have to love something to do it. I guess I'm kind of like the Vince character in that sense. Money really doesn't faze me. I mean it's nice, everybody wants it. But I wouldn't do some suck ass project for a ton of money. I'll probably end up doing a really good one for s*** money before that. HBO What kinds of projects interest you now? FERRARA I'm looking for something that, after I read the script, I'm just talking about it to everybody. That's how I know I'm really into something. And it hasn't really happened yet. HBO What about that title that comes up on your IMDB profile, Brooklyn Rules? FERRARA Yeah, that title has actually changed several times, and it may change again. That was something that actually paralleled the show. We finished up last season with Vince and all of us going back to Queens to do a movie called Queens Boulevard, back to the neighborhood where we're from. The day after we wrapped the first season of Entourage, I actually got on a plane and left for Brooklyn, then filmed a movie in my neighborhood. HBO What was that like - the actual experience of 'going home again'? FERRARA That was a phenomenal experience. The script is unbelievable. I'm really snobby and bitchy when it comes to stuff that deals with my friends and my neighborhood, but this movie is right on. I actually saw it for the first time recently, and this movie holds up. I'm very proud of it. HBO Was it written by a Brooklyn guy? FERRARA It's written by a Brooklyn guy and it's written by an HBO guy -Terence Winter, who writes for the Sopranos. Terry took home two Emmys® for the Sopranos, and he's a Brooklyn guy, born and raised there. I think he still lives there. He's kind of back and forth to LA, but he knows that world well. And he wrote and amazing, amazing script. HBO What else have you got planned for your time off from the show? FERRARA We're still actually promoting the show. I just did Carson Daly and next up is Jimmy Kimmel. Then I think I go back to New York to do Regis. I'm just gonna make the most of this man. You know, never in my life did I think I'd' get the chance to sit down with Regis and talk. [LAUGHTER] So I'm just gonna make the most out of this and just have a good time. I'll still try and find something else good to work on, but I'm not in a rush. I'm not desperate to work. I could use a little relaxation after working for six months. I want to keep delivering a good show next year, so at the least I'll be well rested for that. HBO It seems like every actor has some far-flung vacation planned. Will you go anywhere out of the ordinary? FERRARA I'm not really a big traveling guy. I'm terrified of flying, so just my New York and LA trips put me out for days. So I'm not really gonna jump on a plane and go head to the south of France or something. HBO Are there any perks to all the LA-NY travel, all the stuff you do to promote the show? FERRARA I'm obsessed with room service. I just think room service is the coolest thing ever. So luckily enough, when we go on some of these trips, I get to stay in a hotel and we get a little bit of cash on the room to order food and stuff like that. So it's just a good feeling to sit down on a bed in a nice hotel and just be like, I'm gonna order ice cream and pancakes and chicken fingers and just go nuts. And I don't have to pay for it. So to me, you put me in a nice hotel, I'm happy. I just love the whole process of hotels and room service. You just feel like you're being taken care of. Who doesn't want that? HBO Well it will be real interesting to see where the show takes you next. And it seems like with time, the interest in the show is getting beyond some of the Hollywood stuff and has become a little bit more about the characters. FERRARA Yeah, I think that's starting to happen. The first season everybody was obsessed with Mark Wahlberg's involvement - is he gonna be in the show, is he gonna direct episodes, stuff like that. And rightfully so - the kid's a gigantic movie star. And people still want to talk to Mark - they go nuts for that guy. But we've kind of grown up a little bit, and we got our own personality now. So people are a little more interested in the show itself, and that's all you hope for. That's what Mark's hoping for too. |
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