Post-Sushi Jeremy Piven Forgives David Mamet, Feels 'Like a Different Person'

Jeremy Piven's relentless wrasslin', reality-TVin' Goods press tour continues today at Time Magazine, where the actor sat to answer a handful of reader questions submitted via Internet. And just when it started to look like all-softballs-all-the-time ("It seems that your career has progressed gradually over the years. Did you ever consider giving up acting?"), the readers' proxy delivered a one-two punch from the Piven's mercury-poisoned glory days.

The actor, who as recently as last week was taking down anyone who dared invoke his sushi-fueled departure from Speed-the-Plow on Broadway, was in kinder, gentler spirits while responding to similar inquiries from Time readers. His abridged answers are available at the magazine's Web site, though a related video (unembeddable, natch -- either Piven got to them or they're still figuring out new media) offers more expansive and thus hilarious quotes from the recovering star:

Do you have a response to David Mamet's thermometer question about your leaving Speed-the-Plow? --Ryan Vlastelica, New York City

I had to leave the Broadway show Speed-the-Plow last year a little bit early due to health issues. And Mamet had a comment -- something about I had left show business to pursue a career as a thermometer. David is a brilliant writer and will continue to be for a very long time, and is someone I've been a fan of for many, many years. And this was one of the great joys of my life: to be on Broadway and to do his words. And it's a very funny line; you would expect nothing less from David Mamet. So...

Have you stopped eating sushi? --Rick Dorzback, River Edge, N.J.

I actually haven't had a piece of fish of any kind for 11 months. My mercury levels have gone from just below 60 to 3 now. I feel like a different person. My clarity and energy levels have come back. I do believe that probably my life was saved for a number of reasons. By the time I ended up in the hospital with complete exhaustion at the end of Speed-the-Plow, cardiologists had examined me and discovered arrhythmia and a resting heart rate of 47. I had traces of Epstein-Barr and levels of mercury that they hadn't seen before. So I've been working toward balancing my life, and got the mercury out of my system. So it's a new day dawning for me.

Clearly. Glad to hear it, Pivs!

· 10 Questions for Jeremy Piven [Time]