Golden Globe winner Jeremy Piven, best known for his iconic role as Ari Gold on HBO’s Entourage, is opening up about life beyond the hit series — from awkward fan encounters and his unexpected turn to stand-up, to how his late mother, renowned acting coach Joyce Piven, helped shape every step of his career.

In a conversation with The New Zealand Herald, Piven recalled how often fans still approach him hoping for a signature Ari-style tirade — sometimes in the least appropriate places.

“Anger is a punishment you give yourself for something someone else does — kind of like burning your Tesla,” he quipped. “Sir, I’m at the urinal, can you hold on one second?” While the requests once annoyed him, he now sees them differently. “It can get very awkward, but you learn ways to deal with your anger. Now, I really see it as a gift… this person has been moved and touched by the work I’ve done.”

Post-Entourage, Piven shocked fans with a dramatic pivot in Mr Selfridge, playing American retail legend Harry Selfridge in the British series from 2013 to 2016. Despite critical success in the UK, the show struggled to find a U.S. audience.

“In the UK, they do business the old-school way. They’re decent people,” he said. “Instead of striking up a great deal with Amazon, or Netflix or Hulu, they went with PBS… and they have no money to advertise, so not a lot of people saw [Mr Selfridge] here in the States.”

Still, the role earned him acclaim — and even some unexpected confusion. “They said, ‘Oh my God, you’re wonderful… Oh, you’re American? Oh, well, then you’re a s*** actor then!’” he laughed, explaining that some fans thought he was British doing an American accent.

Raised in Chicago, Piven credits his late mother, Joyce Piven, for sparking his love for acting and performance. “She was never big on advice, even though she would give brilliant advice just from her insights and her natural state of being,” he said. “She was a true artist until her last breath, and I was just lucky to know her.”

Her influence lives on in The Performance, Piven’s latest project — a film adaptation of an Arthur Miller short story about a Jewish dancer in 1930s Berlin. “She handed it to me and said, ‘This is a great role for you.’ When she says something, she means it.” The film is directed by his sister, Shira Piven.

Despite his many screen credits — from Spy Kids to Sin City — the stage remains home. “Since I was 8 years old, I’ve been on stage,” he said. “I was also doing improv… kind of writing on your feet doing comedy and all of those things.”

As he continues to evolve, Piven keeps one final lesson from his mother close to heart. “The last book I gave my mom before she died was The Four Agreements, and one of the things in there was to be a person of your word and not to compare yourself to others.”