Adrian Grenier on storytelling, postmodernism and the world's loneliest whale

For Adrian Grenier, best known for his role as Vincent Chase, the newly famous actor in the HBO series “Entourage,” his profession has always revolved around one thing: storytelling.

Whether he’s acting or directing, working on narratives or documentaries, the focus on telling a compelling story is always there.

And the inspiration can come from anywhere — a 13-year-old paparazzo, a son reuniting with his estranged father, or most recently, from miles out at sea, in the unrequited calls of the world’s loneliest whale.

Grenier visited Ringling College of Art + Design Wednesday, Nov. 19, as part of the school’s film lab series. The series brings actors and other industry professionals to Sarasota to share their knowledge with students.

During his visit, Grenier screened his 2010 documentary, “Teenage Paparazzo,” a film that deconstructs celebrity culture from the inside out through the lens of his ad-hoc friendship with Austin Visschedyk, a 13-year-old Hollywood photographer navigating the morally ambiguous career of a paparazzo.

[video id="KUloD1Z379w" site="youtube"][/video]

The storyline is interesting enough in its own right, but as the film progresses, the story becomes a more complicated one. The very nature of their friendship earns Austin a taste of, and an increasing thirst for, fame, and Grenier is confronted with his own role in perpetuating the celebrity obsession and privacy invasion he initially set out to understand.

“I was leery of celebrity growing up,” he says. “It’s a seductive thing. So to be able to explore, and sort of deconstruct, celebrity from the inside was a postmodern opportunity I couldn’t pass up. There were times (during filming) when people were uncomfortable talking about the nature of media. It’s like a blob, and you can throw things at it, but it just absorbs them and becomes more of itself. It wasn’t an easy monster to take on, but it was fun to try.”

Grenier also discussed his most recent project, an upcoming documentary he’s producing and currently seeking funds for, called “52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World.” It's story about the quest to make contact with a whale that’s spent its entire life calling out at the highly unusual frequency of 52 Hz, a sonic signature inaudible to any other whale.

This whale, dubbed “the world’s loneliest whale,” first caught researchers’ and reporters’ attention in the 1980s, and Grenier said the power and relatability of the story gave him chills the first time he heard it.

“I was compelled immediately,” he said. “It represents so much about humans and empathy for a creature that can’t be understood. If you don’t feel something when you hear that story … where’s your heart?”

While in Sarasota, Grenier paid a visit to Mote Marine, which he said would make an ideal partner for the film.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “They have the expertise we don’t have, and we have the storytelling tools they need to translate their work to an audience who might not have that language.”