Mrs. Ari, the smart, fearless wife of fictional Hollywood agent Ari Gold, doesn't even have an official first name. But Perrey Reeves, the actress who plays her on HBO's "Entourage," isn't complaining.
The series, after all, is about four young guys trying to make it in the land of film and money. Her character, who comes on particularly strong in Season 3 (starting Sunday ), is an extension of her obnoxious, neurotic husband, Reeves says. "I love it. That's how the boys see me," she says.
In Seasons 1 and 2, the male-dominated show was full of stereotypical scantily clad, big-breasted Hollywood women, whom the guys -- Vince, Eric, Johnny Drama and Turtle -- liked to describe in graphic terms. Season 3 opens with the four members of the entourage in a sidewalk cafe, ranking female passersby on a scale of one to 10. But this season, Mrs. Ari and other female characters, such as Eric's girlfriend, Vince's mother and Ari's new colleagues, also come on strong as independent-minded, roost-ruling women. "It really balances it out," Reeves says.
The show started out as a "guy show" but now "we're trying to find more time for women," says head writer Doug Ellin. "We want to show that these guys are not sexist guys."
They may rank women numerically, but "at the end of the day, they're all guys looking for somebody they can talk to," Ellin says. "They're not predators."
When women are on screen, Ellin wants them to be "as strong as possible.... " Even Ari's daughter is getting an expanded role.
"Obviously, there are extremely strong women in Hollywood," he said. "I hope we keep showing a fully rounded world."
Reeves says the character of Mrs. Ari was first brought up in Season 1 when Ari Gold (played by Emmy-nominated Jeremy Piven) was bragging to Eric, Vince's manager, about a specific sexual conquest. "Eric says, 'You mean, Mrs. Ari?' "
Reeves, a longtime friend of Piven, was working on the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" when she learned he had recommended her for the "Entourage" part. "They weren't sure what they wanted to do with the role. Maybe she'd be a doormat," she says. "I said, 'No, no, no. I'd kick his butt.' And it worked out."
"Once we found her, we knew we had something great," Ellin says. Reeves' character brings sophistication to Ari, he says. When they're together, "he gets a nice glow about him, he gets a little classier." She's also "the only person who puts him in his place."
