Script converted actor to TV work
When Adrian Grenier was contacted last year about auditioning for the starring role in HBO's new series "Entourage," the young film actor was unmoved by the prospect.
"I chuckled via e-mail," recalled Grenier, who was studying Spanish in Mexico at the time. "I said, `I don't do TV.' "
A script was sent anyway and Grenier -- who appeared in the feature films "Cecil B. Demented" and "Hart's War"-- was hooked.
He was taken with the story of Vince Chase, an up-and-coming Hollywood movie star who is surrounded by an entourage of three childhood friends from Queens, N.Y.
Together, they live in a mansion rented by Chase's studio and enjoy a fantasy lifestyle consisting of nightly pool parties, fast women, and a $300,000 Rolls Royce. The three friends work for Chase, fetching his dry cleaning, cooking his breakfast, and advising him on luxury cars he ought to purchase.
"I don't think the show is that far off from reality," said Grenier, 28, who was living with his own group of high school friends in New York before moving to LA alone to tape the show.
"Entourage" debuts Sunday night at 10. The eight-episode comedy series was executive produced by Boston native Mark Wahlberg and created by Doug Ellin, who wrote 1998's "Kissing a Fool."
Although Wahlberg wasn't available to comment, Ellin said the show was inspired by the Dorchester-bred actor's own posse. "Mark hangs out with a lot of friends from Boston," Ellin said. "When you go out to bars, you'll see him with his guys and another actor with his guys. And you're never sure what those other guys do. But when you're talking about guys like Mark who didn't come from a lot, they want to share their good fortunes with the people who were there from the beginning."
Ellin said Chase's character is very different from Wahlberg. "He's not as tough and aggressive," he said. However, in a New York Times article this week, Wahlberg said the characters Turtle, Johnny Drama, and Eric (who make up the entourage) as well as Ari, the high-powered agent, are based on real people. In creating "Entourage," Ellin said he wanted to capture what he considers is a reality in Los Angeles: "Out here, you can't trust people," Ellin said. "There are a lot of leeches."In many ways, "Entourage" unfolds like a music video. Using a single camera, the producers shoot on location at some of LA's hot restaurants and nightclubs. The third episode is shot at a boxing match at the 
