Rise to Fame
Twenty years of bit parts in John Cusack movies didn't make him famous. Entourage did. When HBO cast him as Ari Gold in 2004, a talent agent loosely modeled on real-life power broker Ari Emanuel, he turned an explosive caricature into something almost watchable as a human being. The phone rant became his signature. Three consecutive Emmys followed (2006, 2007, 2008) and a Golden Globe. For a character actor who'd been collecting supporting credits since 1986, it was a long time coming.
In the Spotlight
Eight women accused him of sexual assault or harassment in 2017 and 2018, covering alleged incidents from 1985 to 2009. CBS canceled Wisdom of the Crowd after its first season wrapped, declining to renew once the allegations broke. Piven denied everything and called himself 'collateral damage' of the #MeToo movement. No charges were ever filed. By 2023 he was back on screen in Sweetwater, and now he's doing stand-up tours and starring in The Performance, directed by his sister Shira. Hollywood's appetite for grievance apparently has an expiration date.
Side Notes
His parents didn't just support his acting career. They built the institution. Byrne and Joyce Piven co-founded the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, Illinois, which produced John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and Aidan Quinn, among others. He performed in his first play at eight. The Cusack connection survived into adulthood, with the two appearing together in Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank, and several others. He left NYU Tisch during his senior year to work, which is either a flex or a warning sign depending on how you look at it.