Getting arrested twice, writing bad movies,
and fronting forgettable films! This is why Vince Vaughn vanished from the
limelight! At the height of his fame, Vaughn was a bankable,
beloved leading man. Following name-making breakthroughs in films
both small, like Doug Liman's "Swingers," and big, like Steven Spielberg's "The Lost
World," Vaughn's career hit a bit of a rough patch. The film "Clay Pigeons" was hardly seen by
anyone, and "The Cell" and "Domestic Disturbance" were bombs more notable for their behind-the-scenes
turmoil than their box office performance. The Jon Favreau reunion flick "Made" barely
managed to move the needle either. Around the turn of the century, as the failure
of his "Psycho" work playing Norman Bates was still stinging, Vaughn made a smart pivot. He began to showcase his comedic potential
in films like "Zoolander" and "Anchorman". Then he began to pick up more steam with starring
roles in hit comedies "Dodgeball," "Old School," and "Wedding Crashers." As a real-life romance with Jennifer Aniston
dominated headlines, his apex of fame seemed to arrive with 2006's "The Break-Up"; the
Vaughn/Aniston hit opened at number one and went on to gross over $100 million domestically. "You just said that you want me to help you
do the dishes." "I want you to want to do the dishes." "Why would I want to do dishes?" It was around this time that Vaughn's propensity
for picking bad scripts began catching up with him again. From "Be Cool" to "Couples Retreat," "Fred
Claus" to "The Dilemma," "The Watch" to "Delivery Man," many of these films paired Vaughn with
likable friends. However, these just so happened to represent
some of the worst films they've been a part of in the last two decades. Elizabeth Banks, whose career has soared in
the years since, can barely conceal her disdain for "Fred Claus," saying on the "The Graham
Norton Show," "I got cast as an elf with big breasts and
I thought to myself, as I was stuffing padding into my bra at five in the morning, 'Maybe
I have more to offer!'" Between 2006 and 2016, nearly everything Vaughn
touched was trashed by critics and audiences alike. The exceptions were typically smaller works,
such as a supporting role in "Into the Wild" or his "Anchorman" series cameos. For about a decade, Vince Vaughn was, unfortunately,
the guy his character in "Swingers" said you don't wanna be. "I don't want you to be the guy in the pg-13
movie everyone's really hoping makes it happen." Flashback to 2014, and it seemed likely pop
culture fans were on the verge of a Vaughn-renaissance. The first season of HBO's "True Detective"
had been a massive, watercooler-worthy hit, earning Emmy nominations for Matthew McConaughey
and Woody Harrelson. It made a star out of Alexandra Daddario and
established Nic Pizzolatto's and Cary Fukunaga as formidable talents behind the camera. When a buzz-worthy Season 2 was announced
with a dark new story featuring Vaughn, Colin Farrell, and Rachel McAdams, it seemed like
a no-brainer must-watch triumph waiting to happen. Unfortunately, the season was met with a mixed
— at best — response that nearly killed the series until the well-reviewed Season
3 brought it back for a soon-to-debut Season 4. Needless to say, Vaughn's gangster turn didn't
manifest the comeback some were expecting. It did, however, return him to TV, where he
has since remained as a supporting character on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", a voice on "F is
for Family," and where he will soon star in the upcoming Apple TV+ series "Bad Monkey." For the bulk of his career, Vaughn has been
mostly known as a comedic actor, but as Vaughn's comedies began to diminish in their returns
in the late 2000s and early 2010's, he responded by going dark. While some of these attempts were underwhelming,
like his role in "True Detective," Vaughn's two most promising roles in recent times were
by the same filmmaker. Writer/director S. Craig Zahler cast Vaughn
against type as a meth-dealing prison inmate forced into an assassination attempt for 2017's
"Brawl in Cell Block 99." He returned to working with Zahler once again
to play a scandalized police officer alongside Mel Gibson in 2018's "Dragged Across Concrete." Taken as a whole, the Zahler films provided
Vaughn with meatier, more complex characters than he had seen in quite some time. Neither were highly-commercial mainstream
blockbusters; "Concrete" had a budget in the neighborhood of $15 million and barely took
in a half million dollars at the box office. But Vaughn impressed audiences with significant
physical transformations and athletic prowess leading up to the shoot. In "Cell Block 99," he sports a giant cross
tattoo on the back of his shaved head and undertook an exercise and boxing regimen to
prepare for the role. Vaughn said of his mindset at the time, "My mind kinda shifted. I started to think that I wanted to do different
things." "Can you give me some sort of guarantee?" "Certainly." Zahler said of his reasons for looking at
the onetime comedy star with freshly-opened eyes, "Vince has a naturally imposing presence. [...] I'm seeing him do a lot [of comedic
things] and being told he's one thing... But if I saw him on the street, that's not
who I would think he would be." As Vaughn's Hollywood stock grew, he wisely
began working behind the camera as well. Some of these films were Vaughn vehicles produced
alongside friends like Jon Favreau and Peter Billingsley. But as his studio leading man roles began
drying up, he’s leaned more heavily on producing projects — many of which haven't even featured
him on camera. Vaughn's production efforts have included
such diverse fare as the Glenn Beck-backed reality series "Pursuit of the Truth," the
sitcom "Sullivan & Son," and the talk series "Fear(Less) with Tim Ferriss." Vaughn, a noted sports fan, has channeled
that interest into producing the TV series "Undeniable with Joe Buck" and an episode
of "30 for 30" on his beloved '85 Bears. In 2012, Vaughn produced his first documentary
with the Netflix original "Art of Conflict," directed by his sister Valeri. Vince provides the narration for the film,
which details murals in Northern Ireland and how they've reflected the violence of the
area across generations. Through Wild West Picture Show Productions,
which he runs with his sister Victoria Vaughn and Peter Billingsley, he’s also displayed
an affection for holiday films. In addition to "Four Christmases," Wild West
produced the 2022 Hallmark spoof "Christmas with the Campbells," as well as "A Christmas
Story Christmas," featuring Billingsley's long-awaited return to the role of Ralphie
Parker. Vaughn has also long professed a love for
stand-up comedy, first displayed with the theatrical release "Vince Vaughn's Wild West
Comedy Show," a documentary depicting a 30-date tour of comedians hand-selected by the star. 2017's Netflix effort "Brad Paisley's Comedy
Rodeo" and the 2020 Jimmy O. Yang narrative film "The Opening Act" were also both produced
by Vaughn. After establishing himself as an actor, Vaughn
began dipping his toe into screenwriting. It began with a simple "story" credit for
"The Break-Up," but became more involved with a screenplay credit on "The Internship" and
writer credits on "Couples Retreat" and "Christmas with the Campbells." With "Couples Retreat," Vaughn co-wrote the
screenplay alongside Jon Favreau. Vaughn would follow up by co-writing "The
Internship," which was an eagerly-anticipated reunion for Vaughn and his "Wedding Crashers"
co-star Owen Wilson. However, it proved far less financially successful,
being a critical flop many saw as toothless compared to their last pairing. Vaughn even agreed, saying in a 2015 interview, "'Crashers' is an adult situation comedy. I think that movie did well because it really
captures how guys talk [...] It's sort of a relief to people when your characters say
things people are thinking but don't have the nerve to say. Vaughn then went on to blame studio interference
for declawing what was meant to be much a raunchier film. "'The Internship' was supposed to be an R-rated
comedy. Right before we started shooting, the studio
said they wanted to go PG-13. [...] I said we'd do it both ways and then
make the call. But the ship had sailed and I found myself
in a movie that was PG-13, which was not my initial intent." "Just get off my back!" Vaughn has kept himself busy with other pursuits,
including his charity work, professional poker, and his own podcast. He donated to a number of charities over the
years, many military-adjacent, including Army Emergency Relief, Declare Yourself, the Fulfillment
Fund, and Jumpstart. He also acted as a spokesman, speaker, or
guest of honor for numerous other charitable endeavors. The John Wayne Cancer Institute honored Vaughn
in 2017 with the "True Grit" Humanitarian Award. He’s also appeared at fundraisers for the
Motion Picture and Television Fund and Tony Bennett's "Exploring the Arts" foundation. He even played poker at the 2016 "Four Kings
and an Ace" event, hosted by the World Poker tour to benefit Mending Kids International. When not playing poker for charity, Vaughn
has been known to do it for recreation. But in 2021, Vaughn became professionally
involved in the annual World Series of Poker. In 2022, Vaughn competed in a series of three
televised poker matches that found him going head-to-head against world champions, so it
was a surprise when Vaughn managed to win one of his three matches. In recent years, Vaughn founded his own podcast
network/production company called Audiorama alongside Ryan Kalil and Greg Olsen, both
former professional NFL football players. While Vaughn doesn't have the professional
sports experience of his co-founders, he does have a reputation as one of Hollywood's most
sports-obsessed celebrities, and multiple Audiorama efforts have played to that strength. In June of 2018, Vaughn was arrested in Manhattan
Beach, California, complete with a mugshot and all. He was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, where
he at first refused to exit his vehicle. He then failed both a sobriety test and a
blood alcohol test and was charged with reckless driving, driving under the influence, and
refusing to comply with police. The three charges are all categorized as misdemeanors. In May 2019, Vaughn had his court hearings
for the three charges. He pled no-contest and was sentenced to three
years of unsupervised probation. He was also required to complete a three-month-long
alcohol education class. The arrest and sentencing don't seem to have
had any impact on his career, as Vaughn has continued working throughout his probation
period. This wasn't Vaughn's first time being arrested,
however. Back in 2001, Vaughn was sprayed with mace
and arrested after a violent fight with two locals outside of a bar in Wilmington, North
Carolina. Vaughn was in town shooting the movie "Domestic
Disturbance," and his co-star Steve Buscemi was also involved in the fight. Buscemi was stabbed multiple times and rushed
to the emergency room as Vaughn and the other men were arrested. Vince Vaughn has faced significant public
backlash on a handful of occasions due to his perceived political leanings. In a British GQ interview, Vaughn said, "I support people having a gun in public full
stop, not just in your home. We don't have the right to bear arms because
of burglars; we have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and
abusive government. [...] It's the same reason we have freedom
of speech." In regards to whether guns should be allowed
in schools, he added: "Of course. You think the politicians that run my country
and your country don't have guns in the schools their kids go to? They do." Another moment that made Vaughn a lightning
rod for political controversy came when he was recorded shaking hands and conversing
cordially with Donald Trump at a 2020 football game. Speaking to the LA Times later that year,
Vaughn defended the moment, saying, "In my career I've met a lot of politicians
who I've always been cordial to; I've met Nancy Pelosi and was cordial to her as well. It was the only time I've ever met [Trump]. We said hello. He was very personable... I didn't get into policies." Vaughn said in 2020 per the Los Angeles Times, "I don't have a party that I support and endorse. In fact, for me sometimes it's difficult to
find a candidate that you feel is philosophically consistent and not just going along with whoever
is funding their particular party. That's as much as I'll get into it at this
point."
