Although Jesse Metcalfe made his TV heartthrob debut on ABC‘s Desperate Housewives in 2004, he missed a chance to break out that year on HBO.
The actor recently recounted “auditioning for Adrian Grenier‘s role” as movie star Vincent Chase in the hit 6x Emmy-winning Doug Ellin series Entourage, which ran for eight seasons from 2004 to 2011 before culminating in a 2015 big screen offshoot.
“I had an audition for Entourage, and I read the pilot episode, and I was like, ‘This is stupid,’ and I didn’t go to the audition,” he admitted to People.
“Obviously, I had no idea what I was talking about,” added Metcalfe. “That ended up being an iconic show that I absolutely love, and definitely wish I was a part of.”
Entourage ultimately starred Grenier as Vincent, a newly-minted Hollywood star who migrates west from Queens, NY with his brother Drama (Kevin Dillon), best friend E (Kevin Connelly) and pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). The foursome acclimates to LA life with help from Vincent’s agent Ari (Jeremy Piven).
Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly and Emmanuelle Chriqui in ‘Entourage’ (2015) (Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The series was a pre-The Studio hit that took frequent shots at the industry with help from a laundry list of Hollywood cameos and guest stars that include Martin Scorsese, EP Mark Wahlberg, Tom Brady, Pharrell Williams, Scarlett Johansson, Matt Damon, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, James Cameron, LeBron James, Mandy Moore, Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, Bob Saget, David Arquette, Seth Green, Mike Tyson, Mark Cuban, George Takei, Kelsey Grammer, Liam Neeson, Armie Hammer and Emily Ratajkowski.
“I blew that one,” Metcalfe lamented. “Sometimes you gotta say no, but that was the wrong one. It taught me that I don’t know everything.”
The John Tucker Must Die star explained that he’s since become “absolutely” more “likely to audition” for roles ever since that misjudgment. “I’ve been auditioning for what it feels like is everything lately,” said Metcalfe.
