Guest stint leads to regular role in season six

Yeah ... "Entourage" is going to have to ask Gary Cole to go ahead and join the show for next season.

The "Office Space" and "Pineapple Express" actor will be a regular on the HBO comedy next year. He'll be playing an agent named Andrew Klein, an old friend of Ari Gold's (Jeremy Piven), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cole got the series-regular gig after shooting a three-episode guest stint on the show this season. His first appearance is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2.

Season six of "Entourage," which HBO picked up earlier this month, will begin filming early next year for a summer 2009 launch.

The casting of Cole in "Entourage" probably isn't good news for "Good Behavior," the Rob Thomas-produced ABC pilot he starred in earlier this year. The show wasn't one of the five new shows ABC picked up for midseason, but at the time network boss Steve McPherson said it was still a contender.

Cole played drug dealer Stan Jones in "Pineapple Express" this summer. Other recent credits include a recurring part on "Desperate Housewives" and the movies "Breach" and "Talladega Nights."