Quote:
| For the first time, actor Jeremy Piven defended his sudden departure from a successful Broadway play due to mercury poisoning in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" today. The "Entourage" star left a leading role in the critically praised Broadway revival of "Speed-the-Plow" less than two months after the show opened because of fatigue caused by mercury poisoning. Piven said he was "brought to [his] knees" by his condition and said that on doctor's orders he "couldn't do it." "The last thing I ever thought about doing was not completing this run. I've never not completed anything in my life," the Emmy-winning actor said. "They pulled me out of this thing, and that's the truth." "You talk about 'the show must go on,' this is in my DNA. To have the rap be on me that I walked out on this thing. … This was the greatest moment of my life," he said. Though Piven spent three days in the hospital, his claim was met with harsh skepticism by many. "I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer," "Speed-the-Plow" playwright David Mamet told Daily Variety in December when Piven's departure was announced. "He's a brilliant playwright and that's a great line," a smiling Piven said today. "It's a very funny line." But Piven said the effects of the poisoning were nothing to joke about. |
I like how the video is frozen on Jeremy giving a look that seems to say, "Hey, I'm just a big teddy bear. You know you want to believe me. Now come over here and let me snort some coke off your tits, Diane."
