That’s Midwesterner Vince Vaughn who’s best known for his buddy comedies, now leaping into drama this summer with the premiere of season two of HBO’s True Detective.
Continued Vaughn: “I’ll always feel a connection to the Midwest. It shaped my outlook on things. But I like to say that, while I was raised in Illinois, I grew up here in L.A…. OK, so the pizza in L.A. is not as good as Chicago. But you can hike in January.”
Vaughn talked much more to Cigar Aficionado like his serious side, his start in acting straight out of high school, waiting for marriage, his dramatic turn on the small screen and even his zealous edge when it comes to board games.
The July cover story in Cigar Aficionado hits newsstands June 23. Here’s more:
On what to look forward to in the new season, set in California: “There’s something badass about California and criminals, more of an understanding of a level of corruption…this is not a bite-sized thing. It’s more of a journey to peel back the layers and see where it goes.”
On pursuing acting right after high school: “From the very beginning, I enjoyed it. I like to laugh and I like making people laugh. I read a lot and I loved reading plays. But in terms of the steps to get from A to B with a career, I had no clue. I remember just trying to survive in the moment.”
On choosing not to go to college: “For me at 18, I was less interested in sitting in a classroom and downloading content than in enjoying and applying what I was learning about acting.”
On his parents’ support of his career: “Letting me skip college and move to L.A. to be an actor was a very forward move for them. It’s one thing to encourage your kids’ dreams. But you also have to be practical…My dad had put himself through college, and he had the point of view that you had to work hard at what you did…His value system served me well: Try your best at everything, work hard and be responsible.”
On being selective on earlier roles: “I was very defiant. I was more interested in playing characters I thought were cool.”
On the success of his career-making film, Swingers, with Jon Favreau: “I remember we were in New York walking around after it was released—and we were getting recognized, which we thought was crazy. We weren’t trying to blow up and get well known.”
On dealing with paparazzi: “When I was younger, actors were interested in being actors—now it seems to be about being a celebrity and perpetuating that lifestyle. I wanted to be playing a part, but I didn’t want to be out in front of the public when I wasn’t acting.”
On settling down and starting a family at 40: “When my sisters had kids and I got north of 35, I thought, well, I better look at that and start thinking about it. Who do I want to be and what am I looking for? … I was open to the shift when it came. I matured late so I figured, well, if you want it, you better find it.”
On his weakness for board games: “I’m very competitive.”
On moving to the small screen to join the cast of True Detective: “It wasn’t that I was so interested in TV—it was really about ‘True Detective.’ The quality of the characters and the storytelling—they’re incredible. It’s fun to dive into something the caliber of this. What’s interesting about this kind of storytelling is that, with eight parts to tell it and that’s all, you’ve got a long time to investigate the story.”
True Detective premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9pm on HBO