Jeremy Piven really wants you to know hes not an obnoxious person. After becoming one of the worlds most iconic arses on Entourage as Ari Gold, hes spent his life being chased by middle-aged men wearing glow sticks as a fashion accessory. My demographic is men in their late fifties smelling like Axe body spray and they all say to me, Im a douchebag because of you, bro! And I usually say, My good man, were in a mall in front of a Cinnabon. I dont know why youre yelling at me. In fact, its been one of the great benefits of going out and about in a pandemic, he says: My face is covered, my glasses are fogged up, nobody knows who I am. The anonymity is fantastic.

He may be able to move around with a bit more ease, but that doesnt mean Piven has been taking it easy this past year. His latest feature, Last Call, is about to debut over here in the UK: a look at Americas one true enclave of pub culture in south Philadelphia, starring him, Taryn Manning and Bruce Dern. Its brilliant timing, because I know you guys are kind of coming out of your lockdown, right at the time when this movie comes out. So youll be coming out of lockdown just in time for last call, literally and figuratively. Theres your quote! Plus, as his pride at this turn of phrase might suggest, Piven has also made the move to stand-up.

While lockdown has been spent developing other film and acting projects, hes made use of the fact that in the red states, like Texas, they truly believe that, [Piven affects a stereotypical southern American accent] If rona comes on my lawn Ill shoot it the f*** off. There, he says, venues are 1,000 per cent open. Theyre opening up a Hooters inside of a Hooters. They exist in their own little universe. So hes been doing comedy shows in these venues which may be open but are still socially distanced and tries out his material. Ive been making this transition into stand-up for a few years now, he explains, and I feel like this is gonna sound incredibly pretentious, but to make people laugh is an honour.

Piven is planning, if all goes well, to come do some shows over here in October. There are no harsher critics than the Brits, because everyone fancies themselves incredibly funny, he says. But in the meantime, hes using lockdown to not just work on his tight five, but to also keep himself as healthy inside and out as humanly possible. He gave us a rundown of what a week looks like in the world of Jeremy Pivens health regimen.

I was told never to talk about Fight Club, but I have to talk about mindfulness. I know its a taboo and Russell Brand will hunt me down, because youre not supposed to jamspirituality down peoples throats. Well, Im going to anyway, dammit. Theres this brilliant book called Mindfulness by Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman that breaks down what meditation is and how to go about doing it in a very practical way: this is your brain on meditation; this is your brain not on meditation. Its incredibly difficult to do it, but if you just start logging the hours of breathing and being present, only good will come of it. I have no skin in the game, I make no money off of telling you to meditate. It just works for me. It saved me, When I was doing Mr Selfridge, I was going through it and I was a bit overwhelmed. I still desperately wanted to go out and go to the pubs and I didnt. I was feeling a bit down and someone showed me this book and Ive been hooked ever since.

Every one of us is a slave to our thoughts and fears and doubts and the circus that is continuously going on in our minds. The pandemic has really made me buckle in and make sure that I dont miss a single day of meditation. With my training Im either lifting weights and jumping rope and doing circuits or I do jiujitsu. Ive been doing yoga for decades and I make sure that I wake up and do a run or a walk, keeping the body moving. That is essential. We all want to just kick back and drink and watch TV. Its tough to get that discipline in our lives, but we need it now more than ever.

Theres always ways to train, even though you dont have a gym. The greatest way is to grab a couple of resistance bands which cost no money and you can have an entire workout doing that. Yoga is free and its been around for thousands of years, so they must be on to something.

Jiujitsu, you obviously need a partner, but it has been amazing and incredible and you can also do Zoom sessions. I highly suggest the Gracie family, who have an amazing programme where all the legends themselves will be teaching you.

I came back from doing stand-up and my booker said to me, You dont look like youve been on the road, because youre supposed to look like a piece of s***. On the road, youre eating food out of gas stations, youre up until a million oclock. And I said to him, I can be miserable, but I refuse to be fat and miserable.

You make certain choices in this life and what you do in private shows up in public. Its not about being obsessed with yourself or any of that stuff. Its just taking care of yourself. Ive learned during this pandemic how to be inventive. Make sure you take walks every morning, make sure you break that jump rope out. If you can walk for 30 minutes or 45 minutes before you stuff anything in your face, it will kick in your metabolism.

I was vegan, but during the pandemic I realised that Im one of the worst cooks. Then, when I got Covid and I couldnt taste or smell, it was a real break, because my cooking was so bad. I was the only person that was happy to have Covid. But I broke down and then I started eating meat again.

I wish that I could find a way to be on a plant-based diet and still get the protein that I need and still be lean. Theres a way to do it. Im a dummy. I havent figured it out. So moving forward Ill just be eating pigs ears and running around my backyard.

This is the worst possible time to just let it all go, because then you begin to get into bad habits. As Marlon Brando said, You go and you sit by the pool and then you wake up and its 20 years later.

This feels like a doctors questionnaire. I feel like if you try to get something in, even if its just a hike, itll help you sleep better.

You have to meditate every day. Its so funny to me when people are like [Piven affects a southern American accent], I meditate while I shoot good, or I meditate while I eat cheeseburgers. People say they meditate, but their meditation is just well, fill in the blank. There is no substitution for just being present and breathing and having a mantra and doing it for 15-20 minutes in the morning. And then, if youre lucky enough, at sundown you just do it. Dont expect anything; see your thoughts, welcome them and then let them pass and put no expectations on yourself. Just sit in it and do it every day.

Last Call is available on iTunes and Amazon now.

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Jeremy Piven will convince you to meditate - British GQ