Three, three, three plugs in one. That’s what actor Jeremy Piven offered on a recent edition of Dave Letterman’s show. Dressed in a pin-stripped suit with a too-tight jacket, too-long tie and sporting a five-o’clock shadow, Piven carries a humbleness that belies a layer of cockiness. When asked about winning three Emmys in a row, Piven said “I need more, Dave,” but you got the sneaking suspicion that he really meant it.

I think he was there to promote his new film Rocknrolla, but he also discussed his current Broadway stint in Speed the Plow and, of course, we couldn’t forget his TV show Entourage. Wow!

Piven was enjoyable, although sometimes it felt like he wasn’t completely listening to Dave. At one point, Dave asked an admittedly confusing question and Piven answered with a semi non sequitur that was just about what he wanted to say seeming as if he was getting coaching from a certain VP candidate instead of his publicist?  Dave wrapped the exchange up saying “It’s interesting because I’m not sure I understood my question and clearly you didn’t understand my question…” “I didn’t either,” Piven replied and quickly and cleverly added, “I felt like Sarah Palin. I was confused and I played through.”  To which Dave said “nice job.” And it was a nice job. Not stellar, but nice.

It’s so nice to see the up-and-coming generation of actors confident, relaxed and NOT cocky in interviews. Such was the case when Adrian Grenier visited The View. Dressed casually in jeans, black shirt and hi-tops, Grenier flashed his winning grin as well as his coy smirk and immediately brought us in and won us over. Whoopi lead off the segment with a reference to the just-viewed clip of his returning show, HBO’s Entourage, which was what he was there to promote. He spoke hopefully about both its future and his own. And we were right there with him.

When the subject of sex came up, which it did several times, Grenier was playful, not obnoxious, and even differentiated himself from his character’s free-spirited sexcapades saying he has “the monogamy gene.” Subtle and clever as it allowed even those who don’t know his character to help define him beyond the show’s hype.

So, here’s a charming, funny, understated young actor who we then find out not only makes documentaries, but has a show on The Green Channel called Alter Eco all about saving the earth and “helping the planet without sacrificing our lifestyles.” Wow! Adorable, smart, thoughtful and an environmental activist?  Maybe the future is brighter than we thought. And if his future is as successful as he was on this talk show, it’s all good. And there we are…with him all the way.