Jeremy Piven Faces Arbitration Hearing

Jeremy Piven, known to most as fast-talking super-agent Ari Gold on the hit show, Entourage, faced a panel of actors and producers on Thursday and explained why he left the set of the Broadway show, Speed-the-Plow, just weeks into the play's run.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the actor was able to convince the board's five actors of the legitimacy of his health condition when he left the show. The five producers on the panel remained unconvinced, however, leading to a draw that will allow the show's producers to seek arbitration against Piven. However, Speed-the-Plow made a profitable run, a factor that may weaken the case against the actor.

Piven quit the show early on, despite opening to rave reviews and Tony Award speculations. He cited fatigue that was spurred by toxic levels of mercury in his bloodstream. After Thursday's hearing, Piven gave an emotional interview to the New York Times, explaining in detail the severity of his illness.

Piven told the Times that he had been "incredibly sick" since the second week of rehearsals, often nodding off during preparations and sometimes napping on the couch. He also mentioned instances where he didn't have enough breath to say his lines and would sometimes forget where he was in the play. Although reports surfaced that his mercury poisoning was the result of overeating sushi, Piven claims, "The biggest misconception was that this all came out of the blue in December and that I came down with this 'sushi-gate' stuff. It's not sushi, it's from eating fish for 20 years and not understanding the mercury threat."

The actor also refuted speculation that he was partying too much, saying he went straight home from the theater every night and would stay in bed from Sunday evenings, after the matinee, until the next show on Tuesday evenings.

Piven cried twice during the interview, and choked up when asked if he thought he would ever work on Broadway again. He said he hoped his professional reputation would survive the incident, saying, "This (Broadway) is the holy grail for any actor. I kind of can't wait to do it again. And I hope to."