Rex Lee on the Return of Entourage and the Ari/Lloyd Relationship

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Cover image for  article: Rex Lee on the Return of Entourage and the Ari/Lloyd Relationship



Originally Published February 22, 2007

We are now almost a month away from the return of Entourage on HBO.

And that great news means we'll be reunited with some of our favorite guys: Vince, Eric, Turtle, Drama, Ari and Lloyd. While it's the first five who are really the heart of Entourage, you can't deny that the character of Lloyd adds another level of fun to the hit show.

Although the first half of season three ended with Vince firing Ari, most viewers realize that doesn't mean the end of the super agent. Rex Lee, who plays the endearing Lloyd, promises that it's also not the end of the agent/assistant duo. "The rest of the third season is if and how Vince and Ari find their way back to each other, and how the rest of the characters fit in."

Viewers might sometimes wonder how it is that Ari and Lloyd never have to find their way back to each other. You'd think with the way that Ari treats Lloyd, Lloyd would have left some time ago.

Ari: What the fuck are you wearing?

Lloyd: I'm trying out new looks. This one's my Andre 3000. You like?

Ari: No I don't. You look like Michelle Kwan in drag. Why don't you do a triple fuckin' axle over to the phone and try Cameron again?

Yet Lloyd doesn't leave. He stays by his side through thick and thin. Why? Lee said, "Number one I think Lloyd is incredibly patient. Lloyd is incredibly ambitious and has an ulterior motive by putting up with Ari. In that speech in the car at the end of the second season, he said, 'I know the end game Ari Gold. You are it.' He's there to get something from Ari."

Careful not to reveal anything specific, Lee continued, "I don't want to give away too much of what's coming, but from what we've seen so far, I think Ari has a lot of affection for Lloyd. I think a lot of that is expressed in behavior that's not exactly perfect."

Lloyd: Ari, swear to me you will never say anything offensive to me about my race or my sexual orientation.

Ari: I can't swear to that, but I promise I will always apologize after.

Perhaps in the upcoming episodes we'll see a closer bond between Lloyd and Ari, with Lloyd having to support Ari through his time period without Vince. And yes, Lloyd does use Ari as a way to further his career, but as Lee said, it seems apparent the two have some deep liking for each other, whether or not they'll admit it.

"I think the truth of the matter is that the two of them, in a nonromantic way, are a good couple," Lee said.

Ari: That was a good speech Lloyd. If I was 25 and liked cock, we could be something.

Although Lee said that no one from Entourage has ever told him what he can and can't reveal about upcoming episodes, he said he's reluctant to say anything. "If I'm going to throw you a surprise birthday party, I don't want you to know about it beforehand," he said.

But, he did throw us a tiny bit of a bone. "There is at least one episode where the situation that Lloyd finds himself in is incredibly significant in the life of Ari, and sort of illuminating in what's going on with him in the moment... I'm not going to lie that's a little bit intentionally cryptic," Lee said.

Lee, who considers Entourage his breakout role, was a huge fan of the show before being cast. That made him quite nervous on his first day on set. A scene was being shot in Ari's office, but production wanted him on set in case there was a camera angle that showed the outside of Ari's office. "Here's what was amazing to me about that day even though all I had to do was sit in the chair: I was so nervous and so tense I was holding my body in such a strange way sitting in that chair... I was tensing all my back muscles for an eight to ten hour day." Luckily that occurred on a Friday and Lee had the weekend to recover from the resulting intense backache!


Also, luckily for viewers, since that first day we've gotten to see more of Lloyd than just in the background of Ari's office. If Lee hadn't done such a great part with the role, that might not have been the case. Lee said that when he was hired, production knew the second season would be fourteen episodes long and they had written seven of those before they even cast Lee. Originally unbeknownst to Lee, Lloyd had been written into four of those seven episodes. "I'm under the impression if I had just been a disappointment to them, I think after the seven episodes you would have seen less of him or he would have been fired and they would have hired a new assistant. But I went in and did my best and they liked me, so that's a nice compliment."

"One of the reasons a lot of the viewers like my character is that in some ways Lloyd represents the every man. I think a lot of people can relate to having a boss that doesn't always treat you with the utmost respect, and a lot of people can relate to a character who puts up with a lot of unpleasantness to get ahead in the world," Lee said. He cutely added, "Beyond that I like to think I'm a little bit loveable."

Lloyd: The gay mafia has been replaced by the gay assistant corps, Ari. We know all.

While Ari and Lloyd have a strange sort of relationship on set, Lee has a lot of respect for Jeremy Piven. "Most of my scenes are with Jeremy, and he and I have a really good relationship I'd say. He's been in the business a long time and I've been struggling a long time without really going anywhere. We're coming from a sort of different point of origin. I'm incredibly honored by the respect he's shown to me. He's incredibly supportive."

According to Lee, Piven likes to improvise on set. "Sometimes it's a matter of doing the scene as scripted and he'll tag something on in the end. Sometimes in the middle of the scene he'll say something unusual that's not in the script... It's exhilarating to know your scene partner might do that."

Improvisation aside, there was something else I just had to ask Lee. Is Piven as much of a ladies' man as the media makes him out to be? "Probably. Yeah, well you know, and let me state that in a pleasant way. Jeremy likes ladies. Jeremy likes women. He appreciates them a great deal."

Ari: Just so you know, your girlfriend, when she was in the mailroom, offered to blow me. True story.

Prior to his role on Entourage, Lee was a casting assistant, which definitely helped in his understanding of Lloyd. "In hindsight I can say I had no idea I was doing all this research," he said. His job obviously gave him a lot of preparation for his role as Lloyd, especially in terms of dealing with Ari-like bosses. "I had a few bosses, some that, shall we say, were tense, and they didn't always sort of approach how they behaved toward other people as their first priority."

Along with preparation, Lee's previous job gave him an inside look on the behind the scenes of the entertainment business. So when people say that Entourage is true to reality, Lee would agree. "People in the entertainment industry take themselves very seriously. There were definitely moments in my real life when I would sort of step back and think, 'I cannot believe that my boss is making such a big deal out of this situation.' Everything is very life and death. I would say that there's a lot of that in the show."

Ari: Listen, Lloyd, I want you to put all my files, folders, binders, everything into a box! If you find a used condom, an executioner's mask, and a fucking spike paddle, don't think, just pack that bitch! Chop suey!

As said previously, Lloyd would like to one day be at the top of the industry. Lee could go either way on Lloyd's future. "I'll be honest. I don't have an opinion about that because I want to be on the show and I want to have funny stuff too. And if that means having Ari keep him under his thumb, that's all right with me."

Interestingly, the guys who make up the entourage (plus Vince) on Entourage hang out outside of the show, according to Lee. "The boys are really good friends with each other... I don't hang out with them and that's fine. They have their lives and I have mine, but again, they show me a lot of respect and I think that's pretty classy on their part. They're all stars in their own right. I'm just a newcomer coming along trying to break a door down. They're all just very sweet to me and that's cool."

Remember to tune in to HBO on April 8 at 10 p.m. for all new episodes of Entourage.

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