via Cadillac / Getty Images
Twenty years ago, Entourage hit our screens—a show about Hollywood’s glitter and grime that became a cultural touchstone. For those who remember, the Jane’s Addiction theme song and HBO’s static angel were the starting gun for a weekly dose of ambition, excess, and friendship. It was as if you were riding shotgun in that Cadillac Escalade, right alongside Vinny Chase and his crew.
To mark Entourage’s 20th anniversary, I caught up with Jerry Ferrara, the man behind Turtle, the stoner underdog who went from group chauffeur to tequila mogul over eight seasons and a movie. We talked about the show’s impact, the wild times on set, and the moment that changed everything: James Cameron’s cameo in the show’s second season, which skyrocketed the show’s credibility in the show from Hollywood movers and shakers.
Want to hear Ferrara reminisce about Entourage in full? Listen to the conversation on the Mostly Occasionally Show podcast, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
James Cameron’s Cameo Gave Entourage The Street Cred It Needed
In the early days, Entourage was still finding its feet. It was a strange mix of reality and fiction—a show about a rising star and his group of buddies that mirrored the real-life circus of Hollywood. But would anyone outside the L.A. showbiz bubble really care?
Enter James Cameron.
Ferrara vividly remembers the moment Cameron stepped in, particularly in the Season 2 episode set at Sundance. The introduction of Cameron, not just as a character but as the fictional director of Aquaman, took Entourage from being a quirky comedy to a serious contender. Cameron’s involvement wasn’t just a cameo—it was a plot twist for the better that redefined the show.
The Sundance episode put “James Cameron in the forefront,” Ferrara recalls. “It legitimized so much of the fictional universe we were trying to sell people.”
“Well, I’ll give you this story on that, and we might have to check this,” Ferrara tells BroBible on the Mostly Occasionally Show podcast. “I think Doug has done interviews confirming this because I wasn’t there firsthand, but I think I got the facts straight. So, if you recall in season two with Aquaman, Vince doesn’t want to do Aquaman. The suit looks ridiculous, they’re going to pay him a bunch of money, but it looks like it’s going to be a really bad movie, right? But a great payday. That was all happening before James Cameron came on the show. We had no idea. I don’t know where they were in reaching out to him. In Doug’s mind, Aquaman was going to be a bad movie, and we would figure out how that played out in the next season. But Vince was going to get some money because he needed it.”
“Then somehow, through Janace Tashjian and one of our producers who had worked with James Cameron a bunch of times, I think it was like a flyer—like, ‘Hey, would you want to come?’ And he said yes. His only stipulation was, ‘Okay, if I’m directing the fake Aquaman movie, it has to be the biggest grossing movie of all time.’”
“So, when he came on to do that, it changed the whole trajectory of what Aquaman was going to be. Because A, he wanted it that way, and B, it’s realistic. I mean, it’s James Cameron. So, on the show, it took Aquaman from this weird superhero character they thought would never get made, and sure enough, years later, it gets made into many movies. I think he said, ‘Aquaman has got to be the highest grossing movie of all time. It can’t be a bomb. It has to do fantastic on your show.’ So, it changed the whole storyline. Credit to Doug and the producers for being nimble and thinking on their feet. It’s amazing how the Aquaman stuff goes in season two.”
Doug Ellin, Entourage’s creator, confirmed this in a September 2023 interview with GQ, revealing that Cameron’s insistence altered the entire storyline. Originally, Ellin had planned for Aquaman to flop, but Cameron wasn’t having it. “James Cameron sent a letter: ‘You can’t make this movie bomb,'” Ellin remembered to GQ. According to Ellin, Cameron was “dead serious” about the change.
Manifesting a Real-Life Aquaman Franchise: From Fiction to Billion-Dollar Reality
Fast forward to 2018. The idea of an Aquaman movie, once a wink-wink joke in the fictional Entourage universe, became a reality. Directed by James Wan, not James Cameron, but still, the connection to the show lingered in the air. Jason Momoa took the lead, reshaping the character with a rugged, rebellious energy that was miles away from the comic book version.
The film wasn’t just a hit—it was a tidal wave. Grossing over $1.1 billion worldwide, Aquaman became one of the highest-grossing DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films of all time, swimming past nearly every other film in the franchise. It left Wonder Woman as its only real competitor in critical acclaim, but at the box office, Aquaman reigned supreme. The success solidified Momoa’s place in Hollywood’s A-list and established Aquaman as a new pillar for Warner Bros.
In the broader comic book blockbuster pantheon, Aquaman carved out a niche that few expected. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man—these were the heavyweights. But Aquaman? He swam right alongside them, outgrossing films like Justice League (2017), Man of Steel (2013), and even Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018).
How Cameron’s Cameo Opened the Floodgates
Cameron’s cameo didn’t just boost Entourage’s credibility—it kicked open the doors to Hollywood.
In his conversation with BroBible, Ferrara also noted that before Cameron’s appearance, there was a sense of skepticism from potential guest stars. “We were struggling so hard to get cameos. People still weren’t quite sure. ‘Are you guys making fun of me? What’s going on here?’”
Ferrara also noted that before Cameron’s appearance, there was a sense of skepticism from potential guest stars. “We were struggling so hard to get cameos. People still weren’t quite sure. ‘Are you guys making fun of me? What’s going on here?’” But after Cameron’s involvement, everything changed. “Once actors saw James Cameron playing himself on the show, it must be okay,” Ferrara said, reflecting on how Cameron’s cameo opened the floodgates for future appearances.
From Bob Saget playing a raunchy version of himself to 50 Cent pulling up just to laugh at Turtle, the cameos became Entourage‘s calling card.
The Legacy of Entourage and Cameron’s Influence
As for where the Entourage crew would be now? Ferrara and I speculated: Turtle in crypto? Vince struggling with streaming-era blockbusters? The scenarios are endless, but the core remains—Entourage captured a moment in time that still resonates.
“Now, 20 years since the show aired, nothing can jinx it,” Ferrara looks back. “We did it. It’s there for posterity. It was surreal to go back to LA.”
Why was it so special?
“Once I grasped what these four guys were about, the show is about friendship. It’s about Hollywood, but it’s about friendship.”
Entourage may have started as a love letter to Hollywood, but it was James Cameron who wrote a stranger-than-fiction plot twist that turned the show into a legend.
In a blockbuster twist of fate, it might have even helped bring a superhero from fiction to reality.
Aquaman isn’t just a punchline to us Entourage geeks—it’s a billion-dollar franchise, proof that sometimes art imitates life, and sometimes, it’s the other way around.