Interview: Jeremy Piven and Shira Piven Discuss Their Passion Project ‘The Performance’

When you watch The Performance, you’ll see Jeremy Piven do the best theatrical work of his career. That this was a passion project not just for him to star in, but also for his sister Shira Piven to write and direct, you’ll understand that this was a true family affair. Late last year, as the film was doing its Oscar qualifying run in limited release, I spoke to both of them on Zoom about the experience of getting The Performance made. Now, with the movie set to go wider this weekend, I present that conversation to you all.

In my review (here), I had the following to say about their work:

Jeremy Piven has never been given material like this to play and aces it, proving why he pursued getting this made for so many years. Piven is charming and stubborn, but also a strong audience surrogate. He’s tremendous here. Likewise, so is Robert Carlyle, who turns in the best work of his career as a character who is both an ally and an enemy, often at the same time. Their scenes together are the highlights of the flick. In addition to a very solid Maimie McCoy, the supporting cast includes Adam Garcia, Isaac Gryn, Lara Wolf, and more.

Shira Piven directs the work, penning the adaptation with Joshua Salzberg, and it’s clear that she’s been building up to this for years. She films everything with confidence, not just of her own abilities, but that the story is worth telling. Piven and Salzberg keep things light when needed, though never shy away from the darkness. The Performance makes fame alluring, even with these stakes, while keeping you identifying with Harold. That’s no small achievement.

Below, you can see my discussion with both Pivens. We get into the long road that led to making The Performance, as well as how surprising it is that this story has never been done before. At the same time, the fact that it wasn’t made until now probably led to the film being as good as it is. Once you see this movie, you’ll understand. Especially if you’re a Jeremy Piven fan, you’ve never seen him quite like this…

Here now is my interview with The Performance star Jeremy Piven and filmmaker Shira Piven. Enjoy:

The Performance expands to theaters this weekend!