‘Entourage’: 5 Times Vincent Chase Didn’t Listen to Ari Gold—with Disastrous Consequences
Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier, was the star of the HBO series Entourage, a show that chronicled the life and career of a young Hollywood star. Throughout the show, viewers get to witness his growth into an A-list actor, although he doesn’t always make sound career decisions.
Vince at times had a contentious relationship with his agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), who often tried to steer him to greener pastures. Rather than listening to Ari’s wisdom and trusting his industry experience, Vince would often go rogue, making choices that had drastic implications on his career.
Some of them worked out for him, others didn’t. Here are some of the worst-case scenarios.
Vince passed on ‘Aquaman 2’
After the success of Aquaman, Vince is in a great place with the studio, and Ari wants to take full advantage, advising him to continue building the film franchise and his profile as an up-and-coming actor. However, Vince doesn’t want to be tied to a franchise or sacrifice his artistic integrity, leading to dissension with the studio.
Ari begs Vince repeatedly to reconsider, mentioning that the studio has offered him $12.5 million to be in the sequel. Regardless, Vince refuses to play the game and is replaced as the lead by Jake Gyllenhall.
The immature business decision derails Vince’s career and life, leaving him on the verge of bankruptcy.
He went to Las Vegas after being fired
After Vince is fired from Aquaman 2, he decides to take a trip to Las Vegas with the boys. Ari advises against this, stating that Vince has a major image problem that won’t be improved by going to the casino. Vince ignores his request and instead gets Ari to go with him to Vegas for a night.
Things take a turn for the worse in Las Vegas, as it’s revealed that Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) signed Vince up to judge a beauty competition in which all of the contestants are exotic dancers. To top things off, Eric gets into a confrontation with Seth Green, who claims he used to date Eric’s girlfriend.
The animosity between them boils over into a brawl, which further hurts Vince’s image.
The stubborn actor couldn’t let go of ‘Medellin’
For two seasons, the boys chase Medellin, a Pablo Escobar biopic that Vince is determined to bring to the big screen. From the beginning, Ari warns Vince that the project is no good and that he’s better off working on a studio movie with real financiers.
Hardheaded as ever, Vince continues to pursue the role, walking away from several lucrative roles in hopes of producing Medellin. Vince gets his wish when he’s able to purchase the film’s script for $5 million, but he has no studio backing the production and it ends up being a box office bomb.
The fallout from the film causes Vince to come within an inch of ruining his career.
He decided to do his own stunts
In season 7, director Nick Cassevetes asks Vince to do his own stunts in the action film they are working on. Vince is initially skeptical about it and asks Ari to handle it. Ari is outraged that Cassevetes would suggest Vince do the stunt and tells Vince not to participate in it.
However, Cassevetes talks Vince into doing the stunt despite Ari’s wishes, and Vince ends up nearly getting injured. After his near-death experience, Vince begins to live a reckless lifestyle which includes copious alcohol consumption, long nights of partying, and frequent cocaine use.
When his habits reach their peak, he ends up getting into a brawl with Eminem at the rapper’s private party and is required to go to rehab after his arrest.
Vince took a meeting with an unstable Karl Ertz
While at Narcotics Anonymous meeting in season 8, Vince runs into Karl Ertz (Kim Coates), a television producer who once used Vince to lock another actor into a role at a lower cost. In an attempt to show forgiveness, he accepts a meeting with Ertz, although Ari tells him not to.
Never one to listen, Vince meets with Ertz at his home, only to find out that Ertz once again has ulterior motives. Feeling guilty and under the influence of cocaine, Ertz locks himself in his bathroom and shoots himself, dying by suicide.
Because he is on probation and was at the scene of the incident, Vince is required to take a drug test that he may potentially fail.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
