CNN
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There are many actors who need greater than something to depart the characters that made them well-known behind, however Jerry Ferrara shouldn’t be one among them.
Twenty years after the debut of “Entourage,” the person who performed Salvatore “Turtle” Assante smiles as he talks to CNN about the place he thinks his character – who ended the sequence changing into fairly profitable – is likely to be right this moment.
“Regardless that Turtle ended up being wealthy, I nonetheless suppose he’s driving Vince round within the Escalade,” Ferrara stated. “Like, that’s simply who they have been. It wasn’t a lot, ‘Nicely, now I’ve cash, I don’t need to drive you.’ These guys have been household.”
A beloved household at that.
HBO aired the primary episode of “Entourage” on July 18, 2004, and the story of up-and-coming actor Vincent Chase – performed by Adrian Grenier – navigating new stardom in Los Angeles with the assistance of his crew of buddies from his native New York felt very meta, provided that it shot the solid into the movie star stratosphere.
The core solid of “Entourage” – Grenier, Ferrara, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jeremy Piven – turned a part of a golden age that helped make HBO (which is owned by CNN’s guardian firm) a powerhouse community, with critically acclaimed sequence together with “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Six Toes Underneath,” “Deadwood” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” “Entourage” was loosely primarily based on the life and profession of rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg, who served as one of many present’s govt producers.
Ferrara turned beloved as Turtle, who along with being a childhood buddy of Vincent, additionally served as his assistant and driver. That entailed Ferrara driving the crew round in an Escalade, which quickly turned nearly synonymous with the present. The New York native stated that whereas he had a driver’s license when he landed the position on the present, “I got here from New York the place you don’t actually need a automobile.”
Having to drive nearly each episode initially helped to make Ferrara a greater driver, in addition to a fan of the Escalade. So it made sense that when Cadillac unveiled their 2025 refreshed mannequin of the favored SUV, they might partner with Ferrara to spread the news.
“Twenty years goes by and also you by no means know what issues are going to stay, however that automobile, the Escalade was iconic. I all the time say it was like one other character on the present, nearly like one other location,” he stated. “We had so many scenes the place it’s the 4 of us speaking about no matter was occurring in that episode and it was within the Escalade. The Escalade and Arnold the Canine are the 2 issues that form of transcended the present and have their very own place within the ‘Entourage’ lore.”
For Ferrara, the present not solely launched his profession, but it surely additionally gave him lifelong associates as a result of he says the brotherhood viewers noticed among the many solid completely transcended into actual life.
The actor is grateful for each the love folks have for Turtle in addition to how the character launched his profession. Nowadays, he’s a busy younger father of two younger kids who he’s elevating in his spouse’s hometown of Cleveland.
However he hasn’t left Hollywood behind, and nonetheless lands widespread roles together with enjoying lawyer Joseph “Joe” Proctor on the hit Starz drama “Energy.”
As for “Entourage” – which ended after eight seasons in 2011, however had a film in 2015 – Ferrara stated he wouldn’t shut the door on a doable reboot.
“I all the time stated, ‘Nah I don’t suppose it’ll occur,’” he stated. “However I’ve discovered to by no means say by no means to something as a result of simply once you do this, that’s when the factor occurs.”