No one illustrates the less is more principle better than Jeremy Piven. 

Call it Jeremy's Law of Diminishing Returns. Or the Transitive Piven Property. Whatever the label, the non-scientific fact remains: As professional and personal aspects of Piven increase, the chances of him delivering an enjoyable, comedic performance dwindle. 

And that's a shame, because in small doses, Piven can take a flat scene and elevate it into something playful, rolicking and anarchic. He brings a tremendous amount of energy, in part, thanks to his overlapping, machine-gun delivery of dialogue that would feel at home in an Altman film (he did have a small role in The Player). But he can just as easily stop on a dime to bring a quieter, more emotional tone to his performance.

At his best, Piven is a suicide bomber of an actor, somone who enters a scene with a ticking comedic incendiary strapped to his body and isn't afraid to stand there while it levels the top-blled superstar and everyone else in the vincity. He's Johnny from Airplane!, Donkey from the Shrek films or a more boisterous Nick Frost in his movies with co-star Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright. 

But Jim Carey and Ben Stiller didn't become rich and famous being second bananas. Comedic leading man status called to Piven, with top-billed roles in PCU, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and the TV show Cupid. It wasn't until stepping into agent Ari Gold's high-priced Ferragamos on Entourage that Piven finally reached that level of success.

As the series—which began with a potentially compelling premise but turned into bro wish fulfillment—grew in popularity, as the size of Piven's other acting roles grew, and even as the actor's receding hairline reversed course to cover more of his head, the quality of his performances rapidly diminished.

(For the record, I don't begrudge Piven reversing his balding. I subscribe to Robert Forester's take on the subject in Jackie Brown: "I guess I got sensitive about my hair a few years ago. It started falling out, so I did something about it. … I feel fine with it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it." The only reason I bring it up is because his decision to have a fuller head of hair speaks directly to his decision to be a bigger star.)

To the hordes of Entourage haters, the idea that Jeremy Piven has done more than chew scenery and give different one-note performances of his exaggerated Ari Gold persona is unthinkable. But there was a time, oh, non-believers. Here are five examples of when Piven was at the top of his game, having less time onscreen, but doing so much more with it.  

Jerry Capen, The Larry Sanders Show (1992-93)

Considering Piven's most popular role originated on HBO, it's apt that the pay-cable channel also is responsible for arguably his best role. Piven played head writer Jerry Capen for two seasons of The Larry Sanders Show. While he shared time with a trio of comedy powerhouses—Garry Shandling, Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor—doing some of their finest work, Piven was able to hold his own, particularly in the episode that finds Jerry in a toxic fling with a newly hired runner on the show. (Sign #347 that you're in a toxic fling: Your partner tells you to keep repeating, "I'm the head writer," while you're fucking in a TV studio because it turns her on.)

One downside to that episode: naked Piven butt. You've been warned.

Piven left after two seasons for the same reason Janeane Garofalo, another on-the-rise Larry Sanders cast member, departed the show: not enough screen time. On the DVD commnetary, Piven described the experience like being a bench player for one of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls teams. But during the early '90s, that meant you could've been B.J. Armstrong, Stacey King, Steve Kerr or Toni Kukoc, and is that really so bad? 

Michael Barth/George, Seinfeld (1993)

Casting Piven as the actor portraying George Costanza in the Jerry pilot for Seinfeld's show-within-a-show was inspired meta casting. Not only was Piven making the rounds auditioning for pilots at the time, he also scored a similar co-star role in 1995 on Ellen Degeneres's sitcom, Ellen. 

Crowe Cameos: Say Anything (1989) and Singles (1992)

Don't underestimate how difficult scene stealing is, especially when you're a nobody actor making a cameo. The performer needs to walk already strong material across a tightrope with enough flair to impress but not too much that it becomes a hammy, over-the-top spectacle.

Piven achieves that in these brief scenes from two Cameron Crowe films. Not only does he deliver the humor, but he reins in the funny enough for a little emotion and empathy, too. 

Dr. Bob, Heat (1995) 

Michael Mann's Heat is a suffocating, slow burn heist film that erupts in a brutal, bloody and brilliantly staged broad-daylight bank robbery. It's not a movie anyone would describe as "lighthearted" or "easygoing." That's why Piven is much-needed tension release as the shady doctor who stitches up an injured Val Kilmer. 

Piven hits the comic beats in quick and quiet fashion. His stammering isn't overstated as it undermines the false courage he displays as he futilely objects to Robert De Niro asking for his clean shirt. But that's nothing compared to the perfection of the side-eye Piven throws De Niro at the end of the scene.

Paul Spericki, Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

The last entry on this list is also Piven's largest role of these examples. In Grosse Pointe Blank, Piven plays the high school best friend opposite John Cusack, his now-estranged, high school best friend in real life (the two apparently had a falling out in 2007, surprising no one). Director George Armitage knows how to play to Piven's strengths as a way to pace the comedy and the action in the movie. He also lets the audience watch the chemistry that these two (then) friends have. 

BONUS: Piven on WWE Raw (2009)

Not Piven's finest moment, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Appearing on WWE Raw to promote The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, the actor flubs his line, calling SummerSlam Summerfest, and proving that professional wrestling isn't a racket that's kind to amateurs and tourists. But cut Piven a little slack: As a Chicago boy, he's probably pretty familiar with Summerfest, an annual music festival in nearby Milwaukee. 

And hey, check out who's in the ring with him? That's John Cena, the most unduly hated wrestler in the WWE. Or so I've read.