Jeremy Piven to hit Entourage press tour in character

Actor Jeremy Piven will stay in character as talent agent Ari Gold when he promotes the upcoming Entourage movie.

The Golden Globe Award winner is planning to go full method as he embarks on the press tour for the highly-anticipated big screen version of the hit TV series about a Hollywood movie star and his tight-knit group of friends.

Piven kicked off the promotional campaign on the Today show on Tuesday (12May15), when he sat down with newsman Matt Lauer to talk about Gold's new book, The Gold Standard.

In the seemingly scripted interview, Lauer discussed Gold's client Charlie Sheen, and how he sought advice from his agent during his last days on Two and a Half Men - before the real-life actor was fired following a bust-up with producer Chuck Lorre.

Piven later took to Twitter.com in response to a message from the New York Stock Exchange, where he is slated to appear as part of the press tour.

The actor wrote, "Ari will show up not Jeremy Piven, I will stay in character until press is over. I would like to apologize in advance."

The Entourage film hits cinemas on 3 June (15).