Johnny "Drama" Chase

Johnny Chase
Entourage character
Portrayed by Kevin Dillon
Information
Aliases Johnny Drama
Occupation Actor
Significant other(s) Jacqueline (Ex-girlfriend)
Relatives Vincent Chase (brother), Rita Chase (mother)

Jonathan "Drama" Chase[1] is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series Entourage. He is played by Kevin Dillon. He is often addressed by other characters as Johnny Drama or Drama, but it is not made clear whether this is just a nickname or whether he actually has used the name Johnny Drama as a stage name.

The character is based on Mark Wahlberg's cousin, Johnny "Drama" Alves.[2]

Fictional biography

Drama is the older half-brother of popular actor Vincent Chase. Drama has been a C-list actor for most of his career, best known for his starring role as Tarvold in a cult television series, Viking Quest. Later in Entourage, he is cast in another series, Five Towns, which scores 16 million viewers on its premiere. He left the hit show after a run in with a TV executive. Not long after, he was given a holding deal by the network for his own show.

In the first season of Entourage, Drama has not had a serious acting gig for three years. Instead, he is Vincent's chef and fitness consultant, often watching out for his brother and making sure he eats right. His personality is alternately macho and warm-hearted, pompous and insecure. His acting range is limited by a wooden style, but he constantly brings up bit roles he has played over the years in such movies and television shows as Barbershop, Melrose Place,[3] Nash Bridges, The Commish, A Different World, Pacific Blue, Full House, 21 Jump Street, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Star Trek: Voyager as well as a national television commercial for herpes drug Valtrex,[4] and tries to give acting and general Hollywood-related advice to his brother. For example, he helped Vince decide which agency to sign with based on a point system after Vince was thinking about firing Ari. He starred as Tarvold in the fictional science fiction series Viking Quest, which spawned his catchphrase "Victory!". In the episode "Drive", Drama reveals he is a Razzie Award winner. He also revealed that he's directed a couple of short films in the episode "Welcome to the Jungle", after overhearing a conversation where Eric threatens to fire Billy Walsh from the production of Medellin.

He is always looking to capitalize on Vincent's success, which pays off with a supporting role in a film called Queens Boulevard, a bit part in another film Medellin, and an appearance in a flashy Chinese commercial that Vincent does. Although he occasionally finds his little brother's charity emasculating, he almost never turns it down. While it would seem that he is nothing more than a leech, Johnny cares deeply for his brother and the rest of the group, springing to their help when needed. Johnny is a member of the union Screen Actors Guild (SAG).[5]

Drama lands a role as the "older Irish brother" in Five Towns, an Edward Burns television pilot;[6] Burns felt he owed Drama because Drama turned down a role in Burns' successful real-life film The Brothers McMullen, forcing Burns to play it himself. The pilot was picked up in the episode "The Resurrection". After the Five Towns pilot performed very well, Drama effectively resumed a successful career and bought a $1.5 million condominium. He was mistakenly offered a lead role in Rush Hour 3 by Brett Ratner when Ratner's assistant misread the credits in Drama's show and picked Drama instead of his younger co-star. However, Drama still was able to coerce Ratner to give him a role as a French bus driver. During the hiatus of Five Towns, Drama followed Eric, Vince, and Turtle to the Medellin set and successfully secured a role in the film as a military leader who infiltrates Escobar's compound in the movie's climax. However, before this, Drama stirred up trouble by claiming to have received a handjob from the film's lead actress (portrayed by Sofia Vergara), who director Billy Walsh was infatuated with. It is unclear whether this handjob actually occurred, as Turtle finds it unbelievable, coupled with Drama's tendency to exaggerate his macho image, particularly on camera. In the Season 4 season finale, while at the Cannes Film Festival in France greeting the large fan base and cult following of Viking Quest, Drama meets and becomes involved with Jacqueline and begins a long distance relationship with her after he gets back to LA. Drama increased his profile in France inadvertently by having sex on the beach with Jacqueline for three hours. In the end they stop after he sees a large crowd and his friends and brother cheer him on.

Drama claims to be Irish[7] and Chilean,[8] and may be part Japanese.[9] In "Gary's Desk", Drama along with Turtle and Vincent have their own offices in Eric's company, The Murphy Group.

Though it is never shown that Drama is fluent in multiple languages, he has quoted words in Spanish, French, Yiddish and Hebrew.

In the Season Five finale, Johnny becomes the co-owner of a Queens bar with Turtle's cousin Ronnie. Ronnie then had the bar renamed "Johnny Drama's". After that he became a partner with the owner who had to settle a gambling debt problem.

In Season Six, Five Towns is still filming and is still a successful show. This changes for Drama when he threatens Five Towns NBC network executive Dan Coakley after he suspects Coakley is trying to sleep with Turtle's girlfriend, Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Coakley decides that instead of firing Drama, he will convince the writers to torture and humiliate Drama's character on Five Towns. Drama soon decides that he has enough of his character getting bad scenes and tries to get out of his contract on Five Towns and sign on to star on Melrose Place 2009 after Melrose Place producer Phil Yagoda offered him to audition for a role. Drama had been fired from the original Melrose Place series in 1993.

In the season finale, after Drama's agent Lloyd Lee resigns from his secretary position at Ari Gold's agency to accept an offer from Gold's rival, Adam Davies at the Terrence McQuewick Agency, where Gold was fired from in 2005. Drama becomes unstable after hearing Lloyd's departure. Ari and Lloyd compete to get him out of his Five Towns contract and onto Melrose Place 2009. Drama is impressed by Ari's capability, so he verbally agrees to make Ari his permanent agent. However, an impassioned speech by Lloyd convinces Drama that he should remain with Lloyd who is more sincere and concerned for Drama. At the first Melrose Place 2009 audition, Drama fears rejection and has a mild heart attack and mental breakdown, urinating in his pants. Drama then eventually decides that he is an actor and must redo the audition. He does well at the audition, but he is turned down by the network for being "too old". Phil Yagoda then notifies Drama that the network decided that he is ready to have a series created for him and offers an exclusive holding deal, which Drama had never had before. Delighted, Drama and Vince head to Italy to film Vince's new movie. His quote is now at least $100,000 (per episode) higher than it was on Five Towns for which he made $75,000 per episode.

In Season Eight, Drama does voice acting for a new animated series called Johnny's Bananas, an urban comedy where all characters are primarily apes and monkeys. His co-star is Andrew Dice Clay, and the show was created by Billy Walsh. He is also pegged as the lead actor in a TV movie based on a script written by Vince and Walsh.

Interests

Drama loves the Irish band U2; his motto for their concerts is "Floor level or bust".[7] Drama prefers José Cuervo tequila and Johnnie Walker Blue. He also likes enjoying "a good steak, a bottle of red, a couple cigars and some good conversation."[10] He has attended an S&M seminar.[11]

Relation to Vincent

Viewers of the series are shown that Drama and Vince are in fact related. Turtle once emphasized that Johnny was Vince's half-brother and that Vincent thought Drama was his cousin until Vince was 14. On the HBO Entourage web site, Drama is also referred to as Vince's half-brother.[12]

Vince and Drama share the same last name. They appear to have the same mother in the episode "Aquamom" when Johnny calls himself her "first born". However, Drama calls Vincent's mother "your mom" in the episode "My Maserati Does 185". However, this could possibly be explained as him referring to her informally as mom if she was a main mother figure in his life.

Drama may be simply very close to Vince's mother, Rita Chase, due to the fact that the line in "My Maserati Does 185" about their shared father is a definitive genetical statement said in a genuine sense.[13] This means that Rita may not actually be Drama's biological mother, but either his stepmother and/or adoptive mother, with Vince and Johnny having the same biological father, who was an alcoholic and left the family when both were relatively young.

Rita Chase may indeed be Johnny's biological mother. His line in "Aquamom",[14] along with the fact that "Aquamom" came after "My Maserati Does 185" may support this theory. This creates, what Entourage creator Doug Ellin has referred to as an auto-perspective angle in which the audience can assume one or the other in reference to Johnny's actual parentage.[15]

During Season Six, Johnny mentions his insecurities to the executive producer of Five Towns saying, "It could be my own insecurity about feeling my mother loved Vince more than she does me", alluding that Johnny's mother is Rita. It is believed that Johnny was born shortly after his parents left high school, thus explaining the age gap between himself and Vince.

Drama is at least nine years older than Vince.[16]

Relationship history

Relationships prior to the show

Relationships during the show

Fictional filmography

Year Title Role Notes
  - Miami Vice Cocaine Informant guest star
  - The New New Love Boat Merrill Stubing pilot never aired
1987 Barfly Extra uncredited; 3 days' work
1988 License to Drive Unknown
1988 227 Building Inspector guest star
1989 A Different World Drunk Frat Guy guest star
1989 Booker Dead Body guest star
1990 Cop Rock Singing Felon guest star
1991 L.A. Law Mute Clerk guest star
1991 Beverly Hills, 90210 Eddie guest star; Donna's stalker
1991 Point Break Stoned Surfer #5 uncredited
1993 NYPD Blue Dead Body guest star; Kevin Dillon actually guest-starred in three episodes of NYPD Blue as a police officer.
1993 Melrose Place lead guest star
1993 Amongst Friends Kid in Trunk
1994 The Crow small part
1994 Full House Uncle Jesse's Tough-Guy Nephew guest star
1994 The Commish Bulimic Pedophile guest star
1994 227 guest star
1994 Concrete Heat starred with Andrew Dice Clay. Cancelled after one week
1994–1995 My So-Called Life guest star; Drama mentions a stunt in which he falls down a flight of stairs[23]
1995 Cornelius and Son recurring guest star
1995 Last One Left Taxi Driver guest part
1996 Beautiful Girls stand-in Fired for fighting with Matt Dillon
1997 Pacific Blue Officer Ross Harper recurring guest star
1997 Viking Quest Tarvold Drama's first lead role; co-starred with Vanessa Angel
1998 Kissing a Fool Cubs Fan
1998 Star Trek: Voyager Klingon guest star
1999 Nash Bridges Retarded Brother guest star, "Season 3, Episode 7"
2001 7th Heaven High School Swimmer With Alopecia
2002 Barbershop Customer uncredited; scenes cut from film
2003 The Practice Law Clerk guest star
2004 Law & Order: SVU Dead Body guest star
2004 Crossing Jordan Bank Robber guest star
2004 Head On Thug appears with his half-brother Vince
2004 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Himself surprise appearance on the show with Vince
2005 Queens Boulevard Bookie small bit-part with Vince; Scenes initially cut from film but inserted back in by director Billy Walsh
2005 Chinese energy drink television commercial Unnamed role cameo with Vince
2005 Celebrity Justice Himself Appeared on the show after being arrested for destroying a stranger's windshield with Eric's golf club after an altercation on the interstate
2006 Gotcha! Himself target of a prank involving Chuck Liddell, in the pilot episode of Paulie Shore's celebrity hidden camera show (a la Punk'd).
2006–2009 Five Towns Quinn Drama's second-ever lead role. About five Irish brothers who "run" the five towns of Long Island. Produced by Edward Burns, who also directed the pilot. Has shot at least 87 episodes. Currently airing on NBC. Left the show during season four.
2007 Rush Hour 3 French Bus Driver Scenes cut from film
2007 Medellin Colombian Soldier cameo; appears alongside Vince
2008 Corso (TV series about the life of ESPN analyst Lee Corso Kirk Herbstreit's brother Tim minor role
2008 The View Himself The cast of Five Towns made an appearance as special guests on the show.
2011 Johnny's Bananas Johnny Lead Role (Voice). Co-starred with Andrew Dice Clay. Cancelled after one season.
2011 Tvmovie Human Lead Role in Billy Walsh's Tv movie aired in CBS.
2012 Hyde Human Won Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor
2012 TMZ Himself Mr. Skin for Best Masturbation Scene

References

  1. In Season 4, he introduces himself as Jonathan Chase.
  2. http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-facts-about-entourage.html
  3. Drama mentions this in the episode "Aquamansion".
  4. Drama mentions this in the episode "Chinatown".
  5. In "An Offer Refused" (Season 2 Episode 4), Drama asks a plastic surgeon if he accepts SAG insurance for his calf implants.
  6. Drama mentioned this in the episode "The Release".
  7. 1 2 Mentioned in "I Love You Too"
  8. Drama mentions having "some Chilean blood" in "The Sundance Kids"
  9. In "Chinatown", Vince mentions that he has a Japanese grandfather. It is possible that Drama shares this grandfather.
  10. "Aquamansion"
  11. "Security Briefs"
  12. HBO web site
  13. Vincent: "All the Chase men have great legs." Drama: "You got your mom's calves, I got Dad's."
  14. Drama, to Mrs. Chase: "Always hugs him first. I am your first born, y'know."
  15. Entourage Season 4 DVD, Disc 3, Bonus Features.
  16. In "I Love You Too", Vince mentions that the first concert he attended was a U2 gig when he was 7, and Drama drove him there. Upon hearing this, Turtle asks how old Drama really is, and he responds "31". Also in this episode, Drama waves and Irish flag, yet Vince and his mother seem to be Italian.
  17. Mentioned in the episode "Oh, Mandy"
  18. "The Day Fuckers"
  19. Drama mentions this in the episode "Talk Show".
  20. "Sorry, Ari"
  21. "Date Night"
  22. "I Love You Too"
  23. Episode 79 "Stunted"

External links

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