Jeremy Piven Exits Broadway Play After Health Scare

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Jeremy Piven arrives at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards
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Jeremy Piven and Nancy O’Dell backstage at the 2008 Emmys
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FIRST PUBLISHED: December 18, 2008 9:17 AM EST
LAST UPDATED: December 18, 2008 4:20 PM EST

NEW YORK, New York --

Jeremy Piven is ending his run in Broadway’s “Speed-the-Plow,” due to a condition caused by a high mercury count, according to Variety.

The “Entourage” star missed a Tuesday evening performance and a Wednesday matinee due to his high mercury count health concerns, but David Mamet, the playwright of “Speed-the-Plow,” appears skeptical of the actor’s exit.

“I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury,” Mamet told the entertainment trade mag. “So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.”

But, the show will go on said Mamet.

“The good news is that some really great actors will be helping out and stepping in, which to me is a sign of great heroism and friendship,” the playwright added, but declined to name who would be stepping for Piven.

Despite Mamet’s skepticism, Piven’s physician, Dr. Carlon Colker told Access Hollywood that he was responsible for the actor leaving the play, saying, “I’m the one who pulled the plug.”

“He was a veracious sushi eater,” Colker said of Piven, who was hospitalized for three days. “He ate sushi twice a day for years”

Colker also noted that Piven was taking Chinese herbs, which may have contained heavy metals.

Piven’s doctor told Access that the actor was “complaining of serve exhaustion which is very out of character for him.”

He was tested for a variety of possible causes, but all tests came back negative.

When Piven was tested for heavy metals, “his mercury was six times higher than the upper limit of what is allowable,” according to Colker.

The “Entourage” star was told to stop eating seafood, including sushi.

A rep for Piven told Variety that the actor wanted to continue his Broadway stint, but was advised by a team of doctors to end his run immediately.

Piven is best known for his role on “Entourage,” playing manic Hollywood agent Ari Gold.

Piven has been nominated for a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards for his role on the HBO comedy.

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