A Man Worth Listening To: Adrian Grenier
Still, one could argue you’re contributing to the problem: you’re on a show that’s making people want to become celebrities, aren’t you?
Yeah, I am. [Laughs.] I mean, that’s partly why I made Teenage Paparazzo. It’s an answer to the promise of fame. You know, Vince and the boys can do no wrong. They are without reproach and nothing bad ever happens to them—or at least nothing that they can’t get out of. But it’s all just a fantasy. So I hope people don’t take it too seriously. I know people do, though. I’ve had plenty of people come up to me and say, ‘I moved out here to be an agent because of your show’ or ‘I want to be an actor because of Vince.’ And the realities of what it means to actually have a career in acting, the struggles and the insecurities that come along with it, aren’t really addressed in the show. So you’ve got to be careful.
Do you feel guilty about making people want to enter showbiz?
I am not my brother’s keeper. No, I mean, I’ve done what I can to make sure that I’m not just blindly going through it. I’m sharing my thoughts on my experience. Hopefully people will watch Teenage Paparazzo as the antidote to getting lost in the fantasy.
You’re a fascinating case. You became a celebrity by playing a celebrity on a show about being a celebrity, and now you’re deconstructing that celebrity. It’s all so very meta.
Definitely! I don’t even know if my situation has been replicated ever since or even before. But it’s certainly a rare opportunity for me to have that very meta perspective, but also to just have the will to deconstruct it. A lot of times, when you reach a certain point in your career, the last thing you want to do is undermine it or be perceived as biting the hand that feeds you by questioning the industry that’s made this all possible for you. But I guess I wanted to. And I have.
“We’ve certainly contributed, if not helped define, the bromance in this era.”
You’re involved in many projects aimed at bettering the planet. There’s been your wealth of documentaries, and you also founded SHFT.com, which is aimed at nudging sustainable ideas into pop culture. When did you become a humanitarian?
It’s just the way I was raised. As a human being, you’ve got to care about your neighbours and your planet. Nobody else is going to do that. Growing up, my mom really instilled in me a sense of my own power and how I affect the world. I believe we all have our own influence and it can be great. We have to honour that. A lot of people out there don’t feel that they actually affect the world. I think that’s a testament to their lack of believing in themselves and what they actually mean to the world.
The world has a lot more bros in it today thanks to Entourage. How do you feel about the bro culture your show has helped spawn? Is it good for humanity?
You’re welcome! We’ve certainly contributed, if not helped define, the bromance in this era. But I think guys like to be a little more sensitive and show a little bit more tenderness to one another, despite there being an overload of macho-ness in our culture. One thing about this movie is it’s surprisingly touching. You still have the babes and cars and all of that stuff, but more times than not, the audience is going to find themselves getting choked up and feeling genuinely touched. You know, in an emotional way. Not touched as in groped.
It’s a figure of speech, I know! But the word ‘bro’ has become a bit of a dirty word these days, don’t you think?
I think haters will always try to undermine the jock elements. But is it really bad? Bros loving bros under one God? I don’t think so.
Are you ready to say goodbye to Vince and your Entourage bros once and for all?
Vince ain’t going nowhere. I think we’ve got a couple more movies after this one. I’d put my money on it. We’re all going to Vegas tomorrow. So I might actually put my money on it.
