Jeremy Piven reveals reason for leaving Broadway

Washington (ANI): American actor Jeremy Piven has revealed that he left the Broadway play 'Speed the Plow' because his mercury level was rising. Piven, who had been the victim of a lot of rumours ever since he quit the show, with many being sceptical about the reason he had given, opened up as to the real cause of his departure.

"I was so sick for most of the run of the show. Some days I would sleep right until the time I had to go to the theatre," Fox News quoted him as saying.

"I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was exhausted. Finally, I went to a doctor at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut just so it wouldn't turn into a circus. He said, 'youve got to stop working.' My heart rate was 47. My mercury level was off the charts. I hadn't had a real break in 20 years of acting," he stated.

Among those who could not take in Piven's mercury excuse was playwright David Mamet. "He wants to be a thermometer," Mamet said. Piven did not take offence at the comment and instead found it funny. "But what do you expect? He's a great writer," he said.

The actor also believes that the play's producers are fuelling the fire in the New York press, but it does not bother him. "My life has always been in the theatre. I was raised in the theatre," he added.