Entourage: The boys are back in town

So the day has finally come. Four years after the popular HBO series Entourage ended in 2011 following eight successful seasons, the boys are back in town once more. And this time, they’re on the big screen.

Yes, the ultimate male fantasy series about men trying to make it in Hollywood, hugging it out and sleeping with most of Tinseltown’s female population — all loosely based on executive producer and movie star Mark Wahlberg’s experiences — has finally got its movie spin-off. And Series creator Doug Ellin, who wrote and directed the movie, has brought back the gang comprising Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and, of course, Jeremy Piven.

All this talk about Entourage has got me all sentimental about the first time I hung out with the boys — in a manner of speaking.

It was a few years ago at the HBO after-party for the 66th Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Being a big fan of the series, I had been curious to find out if the actors were just like the characters they played in the hilarious, self-referential send-up of Hollywood power play.

Was real life for the Entourage guys anything like reel life? It didn’t take me too long to find out — coming out of the washroom, I bumped into Connolly, who plays “E”, aka Eric Murphy, the manager and best friend of the series’ golden boy Vincent Chase (Grenier).

“What are you doing later?” he went.

“Oh, erm, I’m working?” I stammered.

To this day, my friends have not stopped reminding me how I missed out on my own True Hollywood Story (or one that I could at least have made a few bucks off selling to the tabloids).

But the truth is that the cute-as-a-button actor was probably just be making polite conversation with the foreign journalist who had interviewed him the day before. I mean, E was sweet, well-meaning and always making the group happy, right? Right?

After my close brush with E, next up was Entourage’s super-agent Ari Gold. I had spotted actor Piven at the buffet line and readily pounced with a question that basically meant how it felt to be a loser. (He didn’t win at that year’s Golden Globes.)

I was all set to duck a barrage of curses, Ari-style but … he just put his arms around me for a photo.

Hang on. Where was the obscene, foul-mouthed, assistant-abusing, cliche-spewing, money-grubbing, power-hungry agent on TV? What I got instead was a polite dude expressing an interest to visit Singapore one day!

It was the same with Ferrara, who plays the group’s pot-bellied, marijuana-smoking mascot Turtle. Meeting the actor, I couldn’t for the life of me find a smidgen of the hard-partying, booty-loving, fun-seeking bum. After all, Turtle would never have arrived — after an open-bar party — at our interview the following day looking fresh as a daisy.

“Hey, I remember you from last night!” he greeted me, cheerfully. “How you doin’? Did you have fun at the party? Man, it was a good one, wasn’t it?”

Maybe I was wrong about the Entourage boys. Maybe they weren’t like their characters at all.

Until I met Kevin Dillon. Or should I say Johnny Drama?

I love Dillon’s over-the-top, overbearing, hilariously desperate portrayal of Vincent Chase’s C-list actor half-brother. Which was why I didn’t mind the over-enthusiastic bear hug, seeing as I was the one who requested for the picture. My feathers weren’t even ruffled when he drunkenly whispered in response: “I thought you’d never ask ... ” (Although I have to say being called “a cute little Chinese thing” was way too Drama for me.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to chat with the main reason the Entourage posse existed — Grenier, who plays the A-list, cocksure, babe-magnet actor Chase. But judging from the number of girls surrounding him and the rest of the Entourage entourage that fateful night at the hotel, it did seem that the self-assured real-life apple does not fall far from the reel-life tree.

Whatever the case may be, we’re pretty sure the boys are still enjoying themselves right now.

Back then, Connolly had told me — post-washroom moment, of course — he was willing to do 50 years of Entourage.

“You gotta understand — we come to work every day in California, right down the block from where we all live. It’s sunny, we’re in a different location every day, great crew, pretty girls. As an actor, it’s the best job. And I don’t care what you’re doing — there is no better job ever.”

So what are you doing later, E?

Entourage opens in cinemas tomorrow.