AEA Gives Statement Regarding Jeremy Piven Arbitration Decision, Votes In Favor of Actor

Jeremy Piven is known to tv viewers as Ari Gold, the manic agent on HBO's hit Entourage. He can be seen on the big screen as Don Ready, a high powered car salesman in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. 

Piven was forced to step down from Broadway's 'SPEED-THE-PLOW' in December, citing severe fatigue. He later revealed he had been diagnosed with toxic mercury poisoning due to his love of sushi.

His shocking departure left the production scrambling to find a last-minute replacement in the form of actors Norbert Leo Butz and William H. Macy. The producers took their complaint to the Actors Equity Association, claiming Piven's exit jeopardised show earnings.

AEA issued a statement today regarding the matter:

"Actors' Equity Association (AEA) is pleased to announce that the decision in the matter of the Arbitration between Speed the Plow Company, L.P. and Jeremy Piven & Actors' Equity Association is in favor of Mr. Piven and AEA. The decision acknowledges that Mr. Piven did not breach his individual employment contract nor did he breach the Equity-League collective bargaining contract."

Piven's critically acclaimed, award winning portrayal of the slick, fast talking super agent, "Ari Gold" in the smash-hit HBO original series Entourage has propelled him to the forefront of the entertainment industry. The role has earned him a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards. Piven, will next be seen starring in the feature film comedy The Goods for Paramount Vantage. He was seen in the Guy Ritchie directed Rocknrolla. Piven was most recently seen on the big screen in director Peter Berg's political drama The Kingdom opposite Jamie Foxx and in Joe Carnahan's Smokin Aces, in which he starred opposite Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta. Prior to Entourage, Piven had already established his presence in over 40 feature films with a number of impressive credits which include, The Player, Runaway Jury, Old School, Serendipity, Black Hawk Down, Very Bad Things, Singles, Rush Hour 2 and The Family Man. On the small screen Piven was a series regular on Cupid and Ellen and appeared on The Larry Sanders Show and in the telepic Don King: Only in America. In 2005, Piven returned to his theater acting roots when he starred alongside Keri Russell and Andrew McCarthy in the off-Broadway hit, Fat Pig by Neil LaBute. For his role, Piven received a Distinguished Performance Honor from the Drama League. Piven was born and raised in Chicago where his parents founded the Piven Theatre Workshop. His father, Byrne, taught the likes of John and Joan Cusack, Roseanna Arquette and Aidan Quinn. Jeremy is still very active with this Theatre and returns to Chicago frequently to help keep his father's dream alive.