The internet didn't react too well when it was announced that Vince Vaughn had been cast as one of the leads in the second season of True Detective. Although the internet never actually reacts well to anything, there was some justification for it. Vaughn's recent filmography is only matched by Adam Sandler's, churning out a string of comedies so poor that they're not below par, but haven't even made it to the golf course. Why, then, is Vaughn's casting a reason for optimism? Before he became one of Hollywood's go-to guys for lazily written, unfunny comedy films, he was actually an actor with a solid track record; from his breakthrough in Swingers through to his small role in Anchorman, via Old School and Dodgeball, audiences liked him, and with good reason. He himself has admitted that he's now tired with his "assembly-line" of films, telling GQ:
"I'm not blaming anyone else but myself here. The machine can make you idle. You read a script and then you agree to a role, then soon enough you're on set looking at a scene that has had all the juice and the life sucked right out of it. "You become a hired gun doing a very inoffensive PG-13 movie and, well, you kind of just go along with it. Like anything in life you're either growing or you're dying. When you get too comfortable you start to decline"
That certainly sounds like he's aware of his poor output of late, and is determined to do something to change it. His next film role is in crime drama Term Life, so he's clearly willing to push himself in a different direction, and it wasn't that long ago that another True Detective star had been totally written off after a number of flops. Vaughnaissance, anyone?
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
