True Detective: 5 Vince Vaughn films that prove he is brilliant casting

The second season of the hit HBO series True Detective is right around the corner, but with it comes a cast that fans are less than sold on for a few different reasons. Vince Vaughn is the main cast member causing issues leading up to production beginning, as no one is taking him seriously as a villain on the show.

Clay Pigeons

Synopsis: Clay is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend kill himself because of the ongoing affair that he was having with the man’s wife. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with their sexual affairs. Clay befriends a troubling serial killer.

This is the film that you need to see in order to get a good idea of what Vince Vaughn is capable of in the role of a psychopath. He’s chilling in the film as a fast talking serial killer, using his trademark timing for very evil and sinister purposes. He even puts on a convincing southern accent, which right there shows his has more depth than he lets on.

A Cool, Dry Place

Synopsis: A single father balances his work as an attorney with the care of his five year old son and his work as a high school basketball coach in rural Kansas, where he moved after his wife abandoned him in Chicago. Just as he starts to develop a new relationship with a veterinarian’s assistant, his ex-wife suddenly reappears and wants to re-assert herself in her husband and son’s life. On top of the romantic conflict, he is also suddenly presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to join a major firm in Dallas.

Vaughn plays the role of the single father and it’s one of his more touching roles. Unlike what we saw in the most recent The Deliver Man, Vaughn isn’t afraid of sinking into the emotions of this character and playing him as he should be and how he probably really would be. He’s not crazy or evil, like in some of his other roles, but he shows a type of range we wonder where it has gone over the years.

The Cell

Synopsis: An FBI agent persuades a social worker, who is adept with a new experimental technology, to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to learn where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.

There’s something about playing a detective in a dark film that makes us see actors in a new light. Brad Pitt changed forever in Seven, Matthew McConaughey’s role as Rust Cohle remains career defining and Vaughn is looking to follow suit. But his interesting turn as a detective came in the Cell, which not only showed his range as an actor but also that he’s not afraid — or at least wasn’t afraid — to tackle unconventional films that may not be what the mainstream is looking for.

Return to Paradise

Synopsis: Two friends must choose whether to help a third friend who was arrested in Malaysia for drug possession.

The 90s were a time when nobody was afraid of anything and films were produced at a high rate with big names in just about every one. We’re seeing it again today, but actors could truly branch out and do what they wanted with these independent flicks, and as we see in Return to Paradise, it’s a chance to truly showcase talent. Vaughn is excellent in the film, and it’s something we can lean on when preparing for how serious he will take True Detective.

Made

Synopsis: Two aspiring boxers, lifelong friends, get involved in a money-laundering scheme through a low-level organized crime group.

This isn’t in line with the dramatic roles on this list, but it still showed some powerful acting from Vaughn. This could be close to a character he plays in True Detective, as he’s smart, witty but also at times serious and scary. That’s what we need in True Detective and for those who think that Vaughn will show up and goof off in the show, these films show just how serious he can be.

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