CHECKING IN WITH JEREMY PIVEN

We snatch a quick conversation with the Entourage star as he checks into a Sydney hotel, discussing travel, tipples, thespianism and South Australia.

- INTERVIEW BY CHRISTIAN BARKER

My 3.30pm arrival at the Ovolo Hotel in Sydney's Woolloomooloo coincides with Jeremy Piven's. He's unloading his luggage from an Uber as I walk into the lobby and take a seat. This wasn't the plan. Piven's flight from Auckland was supposed to get in an hour earlier, giving him time to freshen up and decompress before our conversation. I know at 5pm, he's got soundcheck for his stand-up performance that evening, meaning my window of opportunity is tight. I've schlepped across the city in the driving rain, on a Saturday, to speak with the comedian and actor - best known for portraying bombastic Hollywood agent Ari Gold in long-running TV series, Entourage. Hell with it. I'm going to shoot my shot.

Nervously, like a meerkat, I approach the front desk and introduce myself, just as reception's asking Piven for a credit card to cover incidentals. "Hi, Jeremy, right? I'm Christian Barker, the journalist who's supposed to be interviewing you, um, now?" I brace myself for the sort of expletive-laden outburst Ari Gold's long-suffering PA Lloyd was habitually subjected to, but Piven takes a deep breath and says, "Ah, hey, pleased to meet you." He glances at his watch. "Okay, look, can we do this on the move? Can we start the interview now?" I open the Voice Memos app on my phone and begin recording.