Vince Vaughn played the smooth-talking best friend, Trent, in the low-budget and critically-acclaimed 1996 comedy Swingers. He was then picked by Steven Spielberg to star in Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997, co-starring Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore), paving the way for a career as a laid-back leading man. After The Lost World he starred in a series of forgettable features, including high-profile box office flops such as Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and the horror-thriller The Cell (2000, starring Jennifer Lopez). He hit his stride with a string of comedies, playing various combinations of scruffy underdogs, sidekicks, and semi-sincere ladies' men in films like Old School (2003, with Will Ferrell), Starsky & Hutch (with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (again with Stiller), and Be Cool (2005, with John Travolta). He played a sly womanizer in Wedding Crashers (2005, with Wilson and Isla Fisher) and then starred with Jennifer Aniston in the romantic comedy The Break-Up (2006). The latter film put his face in the tabloids as he and Aniston began dating during filming, not long after her separation from actor Brad Pitt (who had in turn begun a relationship with Angelina Jolie).
Vaughn is 6'5" tall... Vaughn was arrested in 2001 and charged with misdemeanor assault after a bar fight in North Carolina, during which his fellow actor Steve Buscemi was stabbed by a local. Charges against Vaughn were later dropped.
Career Highlights: Swingers, Clay Pigeons, Return to Paradise
First Major Screen Credit: At Risk (1994)
Biography
An actor whose strong features and sinewy 6'4" physique appear to have been chiseled from a slab of testosterone, Vince Vaughn is Hollywood's closest human approximation of a Chevy pick-up. Rangy, solid, and all-American in a 'dirt, sweat, and beer' sort of way, Vaughn's roles invariably reflect these qualities, and have given him a genial affability among middle Americans. Thanks to Vaughn's skills as a performer, however, he continues to resist typecasting, lending effortless portrayals to characters ranging from slick bachelors to raging psychopaths to morally conflicted limo drivers.
A tried-and-true Midwestern boy, Vaughn was born in Minneapolis on March 28, 1970, and raised in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Lake Forest. The son of a self-made businessman and a stock-and- real estate broker, Vaughn diverged from the upwardly mobile path forged by his parents. A hyperactive teen (and lackluster student), Vaughn spent time in special ed. and ran with a fast crowd (though he later claimed that he never felt the need for all-out rebellion). Despite his poor scholastic performance, Vaughn derived ambition from his interest in acting -- an interest that first blossomed at the age of seven -- and even served as senior class president. Upon graduation, with only his diploma and a role in a Chevy commercial as his credentials, Vaughn headed for Hollywood. Upon arrival, he proceeded to work in almost complete obscurity for the next seven years.
During this period, Vaughn made the acquaintance of Jon Favreau, another struggling actor who hailed from the East. Their ensuing friendship and real-life adventures provided the inspiration for their ticket to the bigtime, 1996's Swingers. Directed by Doug Liman, the comedy stars Vaughn and Favreau (who also co-wrote the script) as two amiable, Rat Pack-obsessed, "so money" bachelors prowling the streets and bars of L.A. for "beautiful babies" and the occasional job opportunity. This irreverent-but-insightful Miramax release became a bona fide sleeper hit. Vaughn, whose character, Trent, was the film's resident fast-talking ladies' man, emerged as a sex symbol in the making. A supporting role in $Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park heightened the actor's profile and revealed his ability to transition with great fluidity between indie films and box office blockbusters.
Nevertheless, Vaughn subsequently took the small, quiet film route, starring in The Locusts (1997), an overheated but half-baked melodrama in debt to both Tennessee Williams and East of Eden, and A Cool, Dry Place, a family drama that garnered a cool, dry reception from both audiences and critics. In 1998, the actor fared substantially better with his turn as a limo driver who is called upon to make a great sacrifice for a friend in Joe Ruben's Return to Paradise, and he brought a fine admixture of dark humor and sublimated menace to his part as a charismatic sociopath in Clay Pigeons. Vaughn evoked colossal mental dysfunction as Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant's truly ugly and ill-advised remake of Psycho that same year. Critics and viewers regarded his performance - like the film itself - with a tepid blend of indifference and bewilderment.
After that egregious misfire, Vaughn wisely took a couple of years off before re-emerging with a number of projects in 2000. These included The Cell, a surrealistic horror picture co-starring Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D'Onofrio, Prime Gig, with Vaughn as California's best telemarketer, and South of Heaven, West of Hell, an ensemble western that marked the directorial debut of country singer Dwight Yoakam. Following-up with a role in writer Favreau's Made, Vaughn's next big role arrived in the form of a deceptive stepfather harboring a dark secret in the thriller Domestic Disturbance. Unfortunately, the film bombed on a critical front.
Vaughn again ducked out of sight for several years, but Todd Phillips's 2003 comedy Old School brought him back to the top of the heap. Teaming Vaughn with Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson as a trio of over-the-hill party animals who relive their Animal House days by returning to frat house life, Old School became a sleeper hit, and inspired the press to term Vaughn, Wilson, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and others as The Frat Pack. The next of the 'Frat Pack' vehicles arrived in 2004, with Todd Phillips's spoofy retread of the 1970s hit Starsky & Hutch, featuring Vaughn as the slimy villain, Reese Feldman. The picture (predictably) became a mega-hit, and actor's newfound momentum continued to build when, only a few months later, he starred in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Apparently channeling Bill Murray circa-1985, Vaughn received positive reviews for playing the good-guy opposite muscle-bound baddie Ben Stiller.
Vaughn next graced the Will Ferrell vehicle Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) with a small but memorable role, before he made an about-face for the comedy-drama (#Thumbsucker}. Vaughn impressed critics with his characterization and received praise for his funny and heartfelt performance. He returned to the popcorn humor that initially made him a star, however (and joined the $200-million-gross club in the process) with a leading part in the comedy The Wedding Crashers, a raunchy, R-rated comedy that proved once and for all the actor could open a movie.
Throughout 2006, rumors swarmed about Vaughn's offscreen life, and alleged romantic relationship with newly-divorced Jennifer Aniston - a relationship that blossomed on the set of The Break-Up (ironically, a comedy about an couple ending their two year relationship and trying to divide their possessions, friends and condo without killing each other). Gossip amped up anticipation and heightened curiosity. Meanwhile, Aniston aggressively denied rumors of an engagement. Upon release, The Break-Up bolstered Vaughn's reputation as a strong comic lead, and became another surprise hit.
In the holiday comedy Joe Claus -- which marks Vaughn's third outing with director David Dobkin -- he plays the title character, the no-account, loser brother of Santa Claus who teams up with his more famous sibling at the North Pole to defeat villain Kevin Spacey. Vaughn undertook a personal venture for the documentary Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show, tooling around the country on a tour bus with four aspiring stand-up comics as they travel from gig to gig. And he stayed true to form with another "Frat Pack" comedy, Outsourced. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before experiencing wider recognition with the 1996 movie, Swingers. He has since appeared in a number of Hollywood comedies.
Vaughn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Vernon Lindsay Vaughn, a salesman for a meat company, and Sharon Eileen (née DePalmo), a Canadian-born real estate agent and stockbroker once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine.[1][2] He has two older sisters, Valerie and Victoria. He was raised "both Protestant and Catholic" by his Catholic mother and Protestant father.[3][4][5] He has English, German, Italian, Irish, and Lebanese ancestry.[6] His parents divorced in 1991. He grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois where he played football and wrestled.[7] He then moved to Lake Forest, Illinois, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988, with award winning writer Dave Eggers, sports agent Rob Pelinka (represents stars such as Kobe Bryant), fellow actor Don Tiffany. He developed an interest in theater at a young age. He decided to become an actor in 1987, after being involved in a car accident which derailed his chance at athletic success.
Career
In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet television commercial, and subsequently moved to Hollywood, where he came in contact with the inspiration for all of his work. Although he appeared in the 1989 season of the television series, China Beach and in three CBS Schoolbreak Specials (in 1990), he was a struggling actor and faced many rejections. His first film role was 1993's Rudy, but Vaughn did not receive wider success until his role in 1996's Swingers with Jon Favreau. Swingers was released in July 1996, and became a successful independent film.
Vaughn at the London premiere of The Break-Up, 2006
Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in the comedy Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million at the United States box office. After this series of roles, Vaughn was dubbed one of the Hollywood Frat Pack, a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies. In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy-drama The Break-Up (also with Favreau).
In 2007, Vaughn also starred in a comedy called Fred Claus, in which he played the sarcastic, wild-at-heart older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). Fred Claus was directed by David Dobkin, who previously directed Vaughn in Wedding Crashers, and co-starred Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Spacey. Next, he momentarily moved from comedy to drama in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild, a film about the adventures of Christopher McCandless, which was also a best-selling book by Jon Krakauer. He played the role of Wayne Westerberg opposite Emile Hirsch as McCandless.
In 2009, Vaughn starred in Couples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort. Malin Akerman played his wife.[8]
Personal life
Vaughn dated two of his The Break-Up co-stars: actress Joey Lauren Adams during the filming of 1999's A Cool, Dry Place[9] and Jennifer Aniston between 2005 and 2006. His relationship with Aniston began the summer after her separation from husband Brad Pitt. Due to the media firestorm surrounding it, along with Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie, Vaughn and Aniston's relationship was showered with tabloid attention. Rumors about the relationship included the couple moving to Australia,[10] and a possible engagement. In the fall of 2006, Vaughn filed a lawsuit against three tabloid magazines, accusing them of falsely claiming that he had been unfaithful to Aniston, thus tacitly confirming their relationship.[11] By December 2006, both Vaughn's and Aniston's reps confirmed that they had broken up. On March 5, 2009, it was announced that Vaughn and Canadian realtor Kyla Weber are engaged. Weber's father confirmed the story.[12]
