Salvatore "Turtle" Assante[1] is a fictional character featured in the comedy-drama television series Entourage. The character is portrayed by Jerry Ferrara.
Fictional biography
Turtle is a childhood friend of Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) from Queens and is not directly involved in the acting business like the other main characters.
Turtle serves as Vincent's driver and handles household matters. He brings street smarts and an urban vibe to the group and frequently uses marijuana.
Turtle often maintains a positive outlook in challenging situations and brings a sense of calm to the group. Although his significance is sometimes overlooked, his insights and personal connections have helped resolve difficult issues.
Despite his dependent relationship with Vince, Turtle's loyalty and friendship temper his less desirable traits. He owns a Rottweiler named Arnold.
In Episode #2.11, "Blue Balls Lagoon," it is revealed that Turtle has Sicilian-American heritage.
It is also revealed that Turtle played a role in getting Vince to Los Angeles during their high school days. Turtle used to be a bookie and used his earnings to purchase everyone's tickets to Los Angeles and provide food upon their arrival.
Turtle's employment status and physical appearance initially hinder his appeal to women until he starts dating Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
He confides in Jamie-Lynn his aspiration to open a restaurant in the future. In Season 6, Turtle begins attending college.
Turtle's newfound attractiveness to women and Jamie's decision to pursue a TV series shot in New Zealand led to the end of their relationship. Turtle tries to move on by dating Brooke Manning, a UCLA student who has a crush on him. However, he realizes he still loves Jamie and cannot be intimate with Brooke. He decides to visit Jamie in New Zealand, but she informs him that she doesn't want a long-distance relationship after experiencing heartbreak.
Later, Turtle becomes involved in promoting a tequila brand called Avión with his girlfriend, Alex. He encounters trouble with the tequila supplier, Carlos, and businessman Mark Cuban. During their promotional tour, Alex meets someone new, ending her relationship with Turtle. This leaves Turtle uncertain about his future in the tequila venture. Vince steps in to assist Turtle as he helps a New York friend expand his restaurant business to the West Coast. Turtle discloses that he sold all his shares in Avión, only to regret missing out on potential wealth when the company goes public. Vince reveals that he didn't sell his own shares but actually purchased Turtle's shares to prevent him from making a mistake. As a result, Turtle becomes a millionaire.
In the series' final scene, Turtle boards a private jet to Paris with the rest of the group. Turtle reappears in the movie and takes an interest in female MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, who agrees to go out with him if he can last 30 seconds in a fight with her.
Interests
Turtle demonstrates a fondness for luxury vehicles throughout the series. In Season 1, he convinces Vince to lease a 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom. From then on, he primarily drives a yellow 2003 Hummer H2, which was given to Dom as a severance package in Season 3. Turtle frequently opts for upscale SUVs as his preferred mode of transportation, including a 2002 Cadillac Escalade in the pilot episode, as well as 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESVs.
On his 30th birthday in Season 6, Vince presents Turtle with a 2009 Ferrari California, while his girlfriend Jamie-Lynn Sigler gifts him a 2009 Porsche 911 convertible, featuring personalized "Turtle" license plates. In Season 6, the 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV is replaced with a 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. Subsequently, in Season 7, the Escalade Hybrid gives way to a 2010 Cadillac Escalade Platinum. In the final season, Turtle's primary choice of transportation is a 2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV.
Character name
Turtle's real name is revealed to the audience only once during the first five seasons. In Season 5, Episode 11, he discloses his name to actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, whom he is starting a relationship with, stating that his name is Sal. Furthermore, in Season 6, Episode 2, Turtle mentions during an interview that he allowed Jamie to call him Sal, but she is the only one permitted to do so. In the season 8 finale, Turtle suggests to E and Sloan that if their baby is a boy, they should consider naming him Sal. While the last name "Vacara" appeared on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! without a provided source, Jerry Ferrara, the actor who portrays Turtle, confirms that Sal's last name is Assante.[1] Ferrara requested that Turtle's real name be "Sal" as a tribute to his late friend Sal Assante, who died in 2002.[2]
Inspiration
The character Turtle in Entourage was inspired by Mark Wahlberg's real-life assistant, Donnie "Donkey" Carroll, who died on December 18, 2005, at the age of 39 due to an asthma attack. During Carroll's tenure as Wahlberg's personal assistant, which lasted 14 years, he also pursued a rap music career under the stage name Murda One. While Carroll had a disagreement with Wahlberg regarding compensation for the use of his life story in Entourage, they maintained their friendship. Carroll claimed that Wahlberg had not paid him for the appropriation, despite compensating others.[3]
^Jerry Ferrara (June 26, 2015). "47: European Vacation" (Podcast). Bad 4 Business. Event occurs at ???. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
