Jeremy Piven credits family support helped fuel comedic career
The three-time Emmy Award winner is set to film his comedy special this Friday at The Vic Theatre, with two shows at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. He told 'Morning in America' that choosing Chicago was a no-brainer.
'This is my favorite place in the world,' Piven said. 'I knew I wanted to shoot my special here because I'm home.'
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Piven recently buried his mother, Joyce Piven, in Chicago, whom he credits as a foundational part of his life and career. She helped shape his career with one rule: 'You can say whatever you want as long as it's funny.'
'That was very empowering because you felt like you had something to say,' Piven said. I've been improvising since I was a kid and trying to get my own lines in whatever I was filming … every once in a while I'd slip in an improv and it would make it into maybe a catch phrase like 'Let's hug it out —–.''
Piven also spoke about the raw challenge of doing stand-up.
'To do stand-up, you have to be willing to walk through public humiliation, and people don't want to be humiliated,' he said. But being from Chicago, I don't think people in this community realize how important they are because they support creative types. So, they go out and watch someone at a 99-seat black box or the Goodman or the Pitman Theatre so that we get reps, so that by the time we go out there on a national stage, we're ready because the community has supported us.'
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In addition to his comedy, Piven recently starred in 'The Performance,' a film he calls the best work of his life. Directed by his sister and based on a short story given to him by his late mother, the film explores a Jewish tap dancer who is recruited to perform a one-night engagement in Berlin in the 1930s.
'It's just incredible work that I knew if I could pull it off, which we did by the way, then it'll be the best work of my life,' he said. 'My sister did a brilliant job. It'll be out this year, and it's a tribute to my mom.'
As for the comedy special, Piven hopes audiences leave with more than just laughter and walk away with a sense of who he is.
Tickets for Friday's shows at The Vic are available at jeremy-piven.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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