Vince Vaughn was one of the most popular funnymen of the mid-2000s. The Chicago native, who "wasn't very good at sports" growing up, went on to be part of Hollywood's Frat Pack which includes other comedians like the now serious Severance actor Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, The Office alum Steve Carell, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson — whom Vaughn worked with on Wedding Crashers.
But before the Four Christmases star could say that "acting is all about knowing who you are and being comfortable enough with yourself that you can become different things," when Total Film asked him about the comedic group, Vaughn had it tough as a child who had to attend "special" classes.
Here's a closer look at his disability and how he didn't let it get in his path to success.
How Did Vince Vaughn Start Acting?
Vaughn was already appearing in school plays and doing improv comedy in high school. In 1988, after his graduation, he was cast in a national Chevrolet commercial. But it wasn't until 1996 that he would gain movie stardom after starring in Swingers with his friend Jon Favreau.
"That was the moment I no longer felt like an unknown actor," he told Esquire in 2017. "[Swingers] makes you excited to date and to meet someone. Even though the technology and the language has changed, it still shows what it's like to be vulnerable with women, and it feels honest."
The film also marked his signature every-man's-friend characters. "People feel like there's a connection and a friendship there, so they go in right away," he said of people relating to his roles, adding that "People are friendly for the most part, and I get a kick out of it," when getting recognized by fans in public.
Then speaking to Total Film about being part of the Frat Pack, Vaughn clarified that the group was never meant to do movies as a team but that he was grateful to have learned from the guys. "Yeah, I love 'em all. I can see how it might look like a big clique from the outside, but that's just been constructed – it was never done like a team," he explained.
He went on to commend his fellow comedians for their work. "Will is hilarious, he's so over-committed to a character, taking it so far but with a lovability and warmth that you root for," he shared. "Ben has a little of both but he prefers to really push it with extreme characters."
He continued: "It's a big thrill to be working with and learning from those guys. I've liked Owen since Bottle Rocket. His comedy is like mine in that he comes from a place that's very real – as in The Life Aquatic. That's what it's all about for me. Funny but real."
Vince Vaughn Has Dyslexia And ADHD
At age five, doctors prescribed Vaughn anti-hyperactivity drugs for his ADHD. The parents of the dyslexic actor said no to it, but teachers would put him in "special" classes alongside kids with learning disabilities whenever he'd get wild. "I knew I was bright, and I wouldn't take s**t," he said of that time he just laughed at a counselor who belittled him to control his behavior.
The Starsky and Hutch actor didn't want to be treated any differently for his condition. However, he said it inspired him to succeed in his career. "When I was in school, I wasn't a very good student - I had a form of dyslexia and short attention span," he said. "But when you have these setbacks, you develop a really good work ethic, because you have to try harder."
Why Did Vince Vaughn Stop Acting?
There were speculations that Vaughn stopped doing rom-coms because of his wife Kyla Weber. But it might be that he simply peaked in the mid-2000s and that he couldn't recover from his flops that came after. In 2015, he also said that changing management might have affected his work.
"I'd just made Fred Claus and it was looking sour," he admitted to GQ at that time. "I left to go with a different agency [Creative Artists] as there was a ton of bad blood between my manager and my agent and they hadn't spoken to each other for something like six months."
He added: "I'd had enough. I liked the new guys, they had some decent ideas but I didn't have the same sort of rapport as I'd had with my previous team. This tweak can effect your output, especially if you're not communicating brilliantly." Although he doesn't blame his management for his bad movies, Vaughn said that the industry kind of sucked out his passion for acting.
"The machine can make you idle. Like anything in life you're either growing or you're dying," he revealed. "When you get too comfortable you start to decline' "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."
He claimed that "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."
