Kevin Connolly makes the sensible friend worth keeping around, a modest skill that Entourage often takes for granted. We like his steadiness; we would like it more if the writers remembered to give him a joke.
Fi1m perspective
Kevin Connolly’s Eric Murphy is the one expected to have a conscience in Entourage (2004–2011). Around him, the others enjoy the cars and the company; he has the less immediately rewarding job of being sensible. Connolly makes that dependability agreeable, and we like him as part of this ensemble. The limitation is how rarely the role gives him anything beyond that usefulness. Doug Ellin’s comedy needs Eric, but it too often forgets to make him funny.
His earlier television work included Ryan Malloy in Unhappily Ever After (1995–1999), where he also directed six episodes. The move to Entourage gave him his breakthrough and made the loyal friend and manager his defining screen job. In the same year that the series began, he played Fin in Nick Cassavetes’s The Notebook (2004). We recommend that film chiefly for Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, whose performances make its excess sentiment bearable. Eight seasons as Eric give us more time to appreciate Connolly’s dependability and to tire of the repetition.
Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold and Kevin Dillon’s Johnny Drama have the more rewarding material: Ari is the show’s strongest character, while Dillon finds sadness beneath Drama’s bluster. Connolly’s Eric remains amiable, which is a virtue when spending this long with anyone. We grew frustrated with Eric because the show kept giving him responsibility and forgetting to give him jokes. The fault lies largely with the scripts, but a reliably grounded performance cannot make up for them indefinitely.
Directing has been a parallel line of work: Connolly directed episodes of Entourage as well as making his feature directing debut with Gardener of Eden (2007). The documentary Big Shot (2013) drew on his Long Island roots and interest in sport. Those credits take him beyond the dependable friend, though Eric remains the clearest reason to seek out his acting. Start with Entourage for Connolly, and allow for a programme that has little interest in growing up. Eight seasons are more company than we would prescribe.
Biography
Kevin Connolly is an American actor and director. He was born on 5 March 1974 in Patchogue, Long Island, New York.
Connolly began his career at the age of six in television commercials. His first film role was as Chickie in Rocky V (1990). He is best known for playing Eric Murphy in the HBO series Entourage (2004–2011), in which he also directed two episodes, and for his role as Ryan Malloy in the sitcom Unhappily Ever After (1995–1999). He reprised the role of Eric in the 2015 Entourage film. Connolly has appeared in films including The Notebook (2004), John Q (2002), He's Just Not That Into You (2009) and Secretariat (2010).
As a director, his feature films include Gardener of Eden (2007) and Gotti (2018). He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Entourage.
