PHOTOGRAPHY Amaris Granado
HAIR Daleen James
ART DIRECTION Juliet Belkin
STYLING Olya Dzilikhova
Juliet: You're known for Vincent Chase on a popular show Entourage. What is something people don't understand about your character Vincent Chase and you, Adrian Grenier?
Adrian: One thing about me is I have a strong passion for social and environmental justices and one thing you don’t know about Vince is he is a lot deeper than you think and has always supported everything I did.
Juliet: Along with Susan Sarandon, David Arquette, Christina Arquette, you recently produced something very powerful that is premiering on February 20th, a film about mass incarceration and surviving prison in America. Why mass incarceration?
Adrian: This is an important film to shake the audience out of their complacency. We think that we are safer with people incarnated, but it actually makes society less safe because inside the walls of prison is basically a training ground for crime. It is also extremely inhumane how we treat other human beings which is a reflection of the worst part of what society is capable of.
Juliet: What changes should we make in criminal justice system?
Adrian: We need to rethink the way we deal with people who commit crimes and introduce a more nuanced approach to rehabilitation. We have a system that has ‘one size fits all’; if you steal a piece of bubblegum and commit some of the most heinous crimes, you will both get thrown in jail. We need to approach crime from a much more sophisticated place dealing with not only mental health issues but also the roots of crime itself being poverty and desperate citizens.
Juliet: Do you think police choices to imprison someone are not smart today?
I’d like to see us put more funding into our police force but not for bigger guns and more military style gear but for better training so that police don’t have to resort to violence and force when they encounter people who may have committed a crime.
Juliet: What message do you wish to deliver to audience with this film?
Adrian: In a country that is supposed to be a free country we need to look at the fact that we incarcerate more people than anywhere else in the world. And when we incentivize private companies to profit off of each prisoner than we incentivize lobbyist and private companies to work for stricter laws and more arrests and that is fundamentally destructive to the fabric of society.
Juliet: Technology is a big part of our lives today. You recently did a lecture with Arianna Huffington, Marc Mathieu and Lauri Segall talking about the importance of setting boundaries with technology. Can you brief us what those boundaries are?
Adrian: I think technology is extremely useful when it works for us, but when we start working for it then we have a problem. We have an enormous computing power in the palm of our hands. So its important that we learn how to use such a powerful tool for the greater good not just as a distraction into clickbait style apps and media that enslave our minds and distract us from the things that bring us true happiness: family, community and human experience.
Juliet: What technological innovations do you support today?
Adrian: I am a big proponent of using technology to extend human potential and am really proud of the work I am doing with Dell and Lonely Whale around circular economies. Check out nextwaveplasticis.com to find out how we are working with major companies around the world to create a global sizes supply chain for plastic waste destined for the ocean.
Juliet: You are an eco-friendly guy? What are you thoughts on fashion/ textile waste being the biggest problem today?
Adrian: AMEN. We have to do something about the fashion industry and it starts with you and me. Avoid the seduction of cheap apparel. It’s cheap because it exploits people and natural resources and one day we will pay for it somehow- one way or another. Try to buy high-quality, ethically-made and sourced clothes that will you will cherish and last a lifetime.
Juliet: You've done some work behind the camera as well, directed a few documentaries with Reckless Productions? Anything exciting we should look forward to in the near future?
Adrian: TBD. I am catching my breath with all that I’ve been doing but I do have several projects simmering in my brain.
Juliet: How do we make the world a better place?
Adrian: I don’t mean to be corny – BREATHE deeply and let go of your fear because there is so much work to be done and we won’t accomplish our goals if we are in a state of panic.
Murder can be most foul, but that doesn't mean it can't also be thoroughly fabulous. We talk to Plum Sykes, the Author behind Party Girls Die in Pearls.