Based loosely on the life and experiences of Mark Wahlberg, The Entourage is the ultimate story of brotherhood, success, and struggle. Outside of the outlandish lifestyle and hilarious situations, there are critical lessons that The Entourage speaks to that it’s important that men everywhere internalize. We’ve developed this series called “Your Entourage” to share some of these gems
Characters
Vincent "Vince" Chase played by Adrian Grenier
The Main focus of the show, Vince is effectively Mark who has moved from Queens, NY with his buddies to LA to pursue his acting career.
Eric "E" Murphy played by Kevin Connolly
E is Vince’s childhood best friend who goes on to be Vince’s manager
Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven
Ari is a Hollywood heavyweight that joins on to be Vince’s agent
Johnny "Drama" Chase played by Kevin Dillon
Drama is Vince’s older brother who has had some success as a child actor.
Turtle played by Jerry Ferrara
Turtle is another close friend of Vince who is basically his assistant, taking care of the small and large requests that he has.
Do Business With Who You Trust
Business, in general, is hard, so when you find yourself in a new place of business, it’s important that you keep people around you that you trust. This is especially important for Vince’s as there are so many looking to take advantage of your generosity and lack of familiarity with the landscape.
In the Entourage, Vince is inundated with scripts and hardly has the time or interest to read all of them. His agent, Ari, constantly pushes new scripts because he gets paid regardless of whether movies are aligned with the actor that Vince sees himself as. Here, E plays a huge role in screening the scripts and bringing the best ones to Vince’s attention. Together, E and Vince make sure to vet Ari to make sure he is on their side, and Ari proves to be an invaluable asset in rocket launching Vince’s career, but it was Vince’s trust in E to act in his best interest that made his best projects a reality.
It’s been widely shared not to do business with friends and family, but that is a lazy misinterpretation. Business partners can be and become some of your best friends, but it’s important that you are clear-eyed in your assessment of them. You know the bright ones and shady ones in your circle, and how close they are to you doesn’t change the fact that their reputation precedes them. Think about it. If you left $1000 or your girlfriend alone in a room with them, would you trust them to leave them both untouched? If the answer is no, then avoid doing business with them at all costs. If you don’t know, test and find out before starting a business relationship with them.
Similarly, it shouldn’t take long for you to catch a vibe. Trust your instincts. Do you like them? Can you see yourself working with them for 5 years? 10 years? As mentioned before, Ari was a huge part of Vince’s success and was very much the man he presented himself to be from the beginning, both good and bad. When you’re the Vince, you have to assume that newer additions to the entourage will continue to be the best and worst versions of themselves. You have to decide if those quirks are worth it or not. If they are worth it, make provisions for any shortcomings. If they aren’t, move on... quickly.