“Entourage ”Star Jerry Ferrara Says More People Come Up to Him Than Brad Pitt — Here's Why (Exclusive)

On the 20th anniversary of 'Entourage', Ferrara is opening up about working on the show and how it elevated his fame — and why he says more people come up to him than to Brad Pitt

It's been 20 years since Entourage made its HBO debut on July 18, 2004.

The show about a rising star in Hollywood and his gang of childhood friends was life-changing for the then-relatively unknown cast, which included Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara, who played the character of Turtle.

"I remember the night it first came out," Ferrara, 44, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I was telling my mom to turn on every TV in the house because I somehow thought that affected the ratings! But I remember watching it and thinking, 'This is too good to be true. They're going to cancel it because it's too great of an opportunity for me. I kept those nerves for the first few years, and then I kind of settled into it and felt like I had some job security."

Related: Entourage Turns 20! Here's Where the Cast Is Now Two Decades After the Premiere

Ferrara says the high-profile job meant he was suddenly getting recognized everywhere he went.

"I always say it's different with TV," he says.

"This might not come out the way I mean it, but more people come up to me than Brad Pitt," he explains. "And what I mean by that is that they're more comfortable coming up to me, whereas they're probably intimidated to go up to Brad Pitt. But with TV, you're in people's homes and it's more intimate, and you play the same character every week, so they feel like they know you."

He adds, "Early on, people almost thought we were those guys like, it was a reality show."

Related: Entourage Star Jerry Ferrara Says Some Fans Thought It Was a Reality Show: 'It Confused Even Me!' (Exclusive)

Ferrara, who recently launched a new Escalade campaign in honor of the luxury car's prominent role on the show, says that when he'd drive around town in his own Escalade, people would genuinely ask him, "Hey, where's Vince?"

The Brooklyn-born actor says that after Entourage, he was cast as Joe Proctor on the Starz series Power, which also made him popular when he walked around New York.

"It's so funny because Power had a much younger audience, so when I'm walking around Brooklyn one person will be like 'Hey Turtle! I loved Entourage!' and then another guy will be like 'I loved you in Power!' and they won't know the other show even existed."

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Ferrara adds that he has no problem with fans coming up and talking to him.

"Maybe early on I struggled with it a little bit," he says of fame. "As I've gotten older, I realize it's the reason why I get to talk to all these great people or do fun things like get to work with Escalade. It's because of what we built with Entourage. It's been a wild ride, and one that I'm super proud of."

Entourage is available to stream in full on Max.

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