Jeremy Piven is often asked how similar he is to Ari Gold, his character from HBO’s award-winning show Entourage. He considers it a compliment because it speaks to how good his acting was in playing the hotshot Hollywood agent.
If he’s asked the same question about his role as former New York Knicks coach Joe Lapchick in the upcoming biopic Sweetwater, Piven will be honored for different reasons.
Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton broke the NBA’s color barrier when the Knicks signed him away from the Harlem Globetrotters in 1950. Lapchick was his biggest advocate in the Knicks organization, hounding owner Ned Irish – portrayed by Cary Elwes – until he convinced the league and other owners to admit Black players.
Piven said he connected with Lapchick more than any other character in his career.
“It was a gift. I get to play this guy, a guy that effected change and helped break the color barrier. I couldn’t believe my good fortune, to be honest with you,” Piven told FTW. “No matter what your ideology is, if it doesn’t match up with that character, in between action and cut you never judge your characters, you just play them fully. But this character, I connected with more than any other character I’ve ever played.”
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On the surface, Piven and Lapchick couldn’t be more different. Lapchick was 6-foot-5 and a Hall of Fame basketball player even before his coaching career and advocacy for Sweetwater. Piven is a 5-foot-9 actor who’s very aware of the size discrepancy. Where he believes they meet, however, is in their views of humanity.
Piven said racism was something he didn’t understand growing up in an integrated community where he was the only white person on his football team.
“I know there’s nothing natural about racism. And I learned about it in a way that was so confusing to me, because I didn’t know what it was,” Piven said. “So I understand intrinsically – I was lucky enough to grow up in this integrated community in Evanston, [Illinois] – and so I know from living it that we’re all in this together on a cellular level.”
Piven hopes his upbringing comes through in his portrayal of Lapchick in Sweetwater, which hits theaters Friday.
“We need to know about this, because we all need to have each other’s backs and help each other,” Piven said. “We haven’t had, I don’t think, a sports film that we’ve all connected with in a long time. And I like to believe this is the one.”
