Jeremy Piven admits mistake in Broadway furor

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Jeremy Piven, who sparked a firestorm in 2008 when he abruptly dropped out of the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s ‘Speed-The-Plow,’ reflects that he could have handled the situation better.

Piven dropped out less than two months into the production after he was told by doctors that he was suffering from mercury poisoning brought on by the heavy consumption of sushi.

While Mamet and others blasted Piven and suggested they didn’t believe his story, Piven mostly stayed quiet and didn’t defend himself. He was too focused on getting well.

‘I didn’t retaliate,’ said Piven, who will return Sunday in HBO’s ‘Entourage’ in his Emmy-award role as uber-agent Ari Gold. ‘I decided to take the high road. Now I think I did the wrong thing in doing that.’

A professional arbiter ruled last year that Piven did not breach his contract by leaving the play. But even as he focuses on ‘Entourage’ and staying healthy, the controversy still stings.

Read more on Jeremy Piven, the furor and ‘Entourage.’

-- Greg Braxton

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