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Fetching, faxing, phoning, Xeroxing, dropping off the boss' dry cleaning, picking up his prescription meds -- the life of a Hollywood assistant isn't easy. Rex Lee knows; once an assistant himself, he now plays one on HBO's hit series "Entourage."
In a town where real life often bleeds into fiction and vice versa, Lee's portrayal of gay Chinese American Lloyd -- abused by his rabid boss Ari Gold (played with razor-sharp acerbity by Jeremy Piven) for, among other things, being gay and Asian -- is so uncomfortably on the money he's become a sort of patron saint of boss-badgered employees everywhere. Lee's breakout moment occurred at the end of Season 2 when Ari gets fired from a high-powered agency and Lloyd, in a scene practically ripped from the script of "Jerry Maguire," hesitates about joining him. "Ari, swear to me that you will never again say anything offensive to me about my race or my sexual orientation," Lloyd says under his breath while the whole office awkwardly looks on. "I can't swear to that," Ari replies. "But I promise I will always apologize after."
Actually, we should restate that. It was the first of many breakout moments for Lloyd. Because as Ari Gold has become the unofficial star of the show, so has Lloyd become something of a pop icon -- thanks in large part to the idiosyncratic touches Lee brings to the role: the bright ties and baggy-ankled pants, the fast-paced shuffle with head cocked to one side, his puppy dog sulks.
Most endearing of all (and this will sound incredibly weird) is Lloyd's masochistic devotion to Ari Gold. The man has taken more abuse than a bald Britney Spears, and yet his love for his boss remains touchingly undiminished. "Lloyd wants to rule the world," says Lee. To his mind, Ari is "the master. And Lloyd is there to sit at the feet of the master and learn."
When Lee, 38, landed the role of Lloyd in 2004, he was a struggling actor and a freelance assistant to a casting agent. The character wasn't intended as a permanent part, but something about the way Lee brought Lloyd to life -- his prim sense of purpose, immutable excitement and ability to take charge...