Jeremy Piven, who seems to be the very model of a modern major talent agent in HBO's new comedy "Entourage," is currently seeking representation.

When I asked what his own agent thought of his portrayal of the shark-like Ari, Piven confessed that he's currently "agentless" (proving that even the most innocuous questions can occasionally turn up surprising answers).

"I think I may have freaked" his former agent, he said, adding that he'd taken to the role of Ari to the point that "I started acting like an agent to my agent."

About this time, I began to wonder if Piven might not be joking, but no, he inisted: "I literally am looking for an agent right now."

Of course, since he went on to identify his former agency as "Epstein & Barre," it's hard to know what to believe.

For those of you who didn't see "Entourage's" Sunday premiere -- and that would be a lot of you, though HBO was apparently encouraged enough to have already ordered a second season -- it's loosely based on the experiences of actor Mark Wahlberg and his own entourage. Adrian Grenier plays Vince Chase, a young actor on his way up who's taking his boyhood friends along for the ride.

Which isn't to say that "Johnny Drama," Vince's somewhat-less-successful actor-brother (who's played by Kevin Dillon, who's, yes, Matt's brother) is in any way meant to be Donnie Wahlberg ("Boomtown").

Or so says his brother Mark.

Nor, we were told, is the character of Ari based on any real agent, living or dead. Even if Wahlberg does have an agent named Ari.

Beyond that, "Jeremy has created his own monster," Wahlberg said.