By Alicia Avila
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For actors Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly, the friendship of their "Entourage" characters Vince and Eric that grew over eight seasons on HBO made it a no-brainer for the pair to reunite for the movie spinoff.
HBO's "Entourage" followed actor Vince (Grenier) and his friends, who became high-flying Hollywood power players. The film continues their journey.
In an interview with Reuters interrupted by frequent giggles, Grenier, 38, and Connolly, 41, discussed returning to "Entourage," out in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, four years after the show ended its TV run. Below are excerpts.
Q: What was it like to step back into "Entourage?"
Grenier: It was wonderful, you know, we've been waiting too long.
Connolly: It was easy, like riding a bike. Five minutes being in the hair and makeup trailer that first morning; everything was back to normal like we never left.
Q: Why was it important to keep the original cast?
Connolly: If it wasn't all of us in the movie, it never would happen. We wouldn't have done the movie without the five guys.
Q: The show started in 2004 and ended in 2011. Does it still reflect Hollywood?
Connolly: I think this movie is on the money, with Hollywood and workings in Hollywood.
Grenier: You get an inside look at the world of Hollywood and all of these ins and outs, and workings of the business. And at the same time, you get to be part of this entourage and live a constantly free lifestyle. You get to take big risks.
Q: What opportunities are available as the world of television continues to evolve?
Connolly: The business has changed very drastically. It's true. If two years ago, my agent called me and said, "Hi, I have this scripted TV show, if you want Amazon?" I would hang up the phone and fire them. Now the best actors of television come from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and all these platforms.
Q: What have you learned from your characters?
Grenier: Vincent is the down-to-earth guy. Even though he's floating on top of the world, he's very much down-to-earth.
We had a lot of fun in this movie and on the show. And that's the problem. You know how many tapes we ruined every day? Because of this guy (pointing to Connolly), because of how much fun we had. Not to mention Kevin Dillon (Johnny Drama), or Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) - It's too much fun.