Sept. 22, 2025, Published 5:35 p.m. ET
Actor Jeremy Piven is using laughter as the best medicine as he continues to mourn the loss of his mother earlier this year. In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, the star with over 100 film and television credits detailed his decision to return to his live theater roots while touring the country with a new stand-up comedy act.
Piven is probably best known as the sly and sarcastic Hollywood agent Ari Gold on the HBO series Entourage. The 60-year-old won three consecutive Emmys for the role and can barely step outside without someone yelling his character’s catchphrase “LLOYD!” at him. However, the TV show is now behind him as Piven pivots toward one of his earliest loves – live performances – a passion that came from his theater-loving mother, Joyce, who passed away in January at age 94.
Finding Healing Through Comedy
Speaking exclusively with RadarOnline.com, Piven said his new career as a traveling stand-up comic is helping him heal during his grieving process.
“When you’re on the road and you’re ordering breakfast and, you know, you’re crying and trying to gain some clarity, it’s always good to just take a beat, tell a joke, start laughing and then shake it off,” he said. “Because grieving isn’t for sissys. It’s a part of that, and it’s good to just break through that and have a laugh.”
Comedic Inspirations and Tour
Piven likens his comedy style to greats such as Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin. His jokes range from personal stories on sets to impressions and even some original characters. His tour spans from New York, New York, to West Palm Beach, Florida, to Irvine, California, and various locations in between.
He already has dates booked through May of next year. The Grosse Pointe Blank actor says every time he takes the stage, his mother is never far from his thoughts.
“I talk about her in my show,” Piven shared. “So I take her up on stage with me wherever I go. She loved a good laugh. She was very funny.”
A Mother’s Lasting Legacy
Piven’s love of live theater was deeply influenced by his mother. In the early 1970s, Joyce and her late husband, Byrne Piven, co-founded the Piven Theatre Workshop, which trained a notable roster of actors including John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Kate Walsh, Lili Taylor, and Aidan Quinn.
Two decades earlier, Joyce and Byrne were founding members of the improv-heavy Playwrights Theatre Club, led by Paul Sills who went on to create The Second City in 1959.
Joyce’s teaching methods and secret acting tips were documented in the book she co-wrote with Byrne in 2012, In the Studio With Joyce Piven.
Touching Tribute
When Joyce passed away earlier this year, Jeremy Piven shared a heartfelt tribute to her on Instagram, accompanied by several photos of the two together.
“Yes, she’s my mother, but she was an incredible human being,” he wrote. “Acting teacher to so many of us who genuinely enjoyed the evolution of her students. Taught us to respect the space we occupy when we perform, instilled the integrity of the work, and how lucky we are to get it.
“When we would run lines together (until the end) she would enter into the character and do whatever accent was needed. She was graceful until her last breath. Always the teacher… We don’t know how long we have here in this human form, but I can tell you that we lost a good one. She’s dancing with my father. Be good to each other.”
https://radaronline.com/p/jeremy-piven-stand-up-comedy-grieve-mother/