Vince Vaughn

To Vince Vaughn, persistence and luck play an important part to achieve his dream even though he has all the basic ingredients to be a movie star. Possessing talent, capability, charm, and charisma indeed not enough for he had to go through such a rocky way before striving to be one of the most celebrated actors of his generation in Hollywood film industry.

An Italian, Lebanese, Scottish, Irish and German descent, he was born Vincent Anthony Vaughn on March 28, 1970 to Vernon and Sharon Vaughn. Although his birthplace was in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he spent most of his early life in Lake Forest, Illinois, after living briefly in Buffalo Grove. Entering Lake Forest High School, he was known as a bad student who lacked the interest in education. This was presumably due to his overwhelming fondness for acting that has been apparent since he was only seven years old.

Shortly after his graduation from the high school in 1988, Vince landed a propitious deal with Chevrolet to be the model of its TV commercial. Looking on this initial success, he determined to pursue a bigger chance in Los Angeles. Upon his arrival in the dazzling city, he quickly experienced the harsh life he had to undergo as he faced countless rejections in his struggle to be a professional actor. Even though he finally managed to appear in TV series, like "China Beach" (1988-1991) and "21 Jump Street" (1987-1991), the roles he earned were merely one-time bit parts which surely could not make his name to come to the surface.

Fortunately, his luck started to change slightly when he got a small speaking role in "Rudy" (1993). It was at the film's set that he met and befriended another struggling actor named Jon Favreau. At that time, Favreau was in the process of writing a script about his own life as an out-of-work actor. As the script was about to be transformed into a film entitled "Swingers" (1996), Vince was written to play the Trent Walker which he later took role of as a favor to Favreau. To his surprise, his portrayal was critically acclaimed while the movie itself became a successful independent film. As a result, people began to take notice on him, including the Hollywood renowned director, Steven Spielberg.

Getting impressed with his acting skills, Spielberg included him in the cast of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" (1997). This, unquestionably, gave a large contribution to the development of his career as he received many lucrative offers of big screen projects. For the first time, he could select the role he wanted to enact, meaning he had the ample chance to explore more film characters. He acted as a dilemmatic limo driver in "Return to Paradise" (1998), becoming a charismatic sociopath in "Clay Pigeons" (1998) and a troubled hotel proprietor in the 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller flick, "Psycho." Sadly, the latter one flopped heavily while also received negative reviews.

Disappointed but not discouraged, Vince went on filming "The Cell" and "The Prime Gig" which both came up in 2000. By 2001, he again made collaboration with long-time best friend Favreau in "Made" which was also written and directed by the fellow actor. Afterwards playing a deceptive stepfather in "Domestic Disturbance" (2001), he eventually gained huge success through a hilarious comedy hit entitled "Old School" (2003). As he starred alongside Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson in this particular film, press began to include these three funnymen in "Frat Pack", a group of Hollywood actors who consistently perform together in the same type of comedies. Other members of Frat Pack include Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson.

The year of 2004 turned out to be a glorious period for Vince since two of his starring vehicles turned out to be box office successes, namely "Starsky & Hutch" and "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" which both paired him with Stiller. No doubt had his star shone more vividly, he next took role in "Be Cool" and "Mr and Mrs Smith" by 2005, in the meantime once again joining forces with his Frat Pack buddy, Owen Wilson, in "Wedding Crashers." Scoring more than 170 million U.S. dollars, the latter was placed in the top spot of box-office for several weeks and so, really enhanced his status as one of most celebrated comedic actors in Hollywood.

All of these attainments he had scored subsequently led Vince to such a hectic schedule for the next few years ahead for sure. There was high-profile comedy "The Break-Up" in 2006 followed by a dramatic turn in acclaimed "Into the Wild" and a leading part as titular character in holiday flick "Fred Claus", both popping up in 2007. 2008 would still spot him in comedic features such as "Four Christmases" alongside Reese Witherspoon and "The H-Man Cometh" under David O. Russell's direction while he busily produces "Male Doula" and "Realtors" for 2009 and 2010 release, respectively.

Apart from his acting career, Vince has repeatedly become headlines in the media concerning his personal life. In May 2001, he was mentioned to cause a ruckus at a bar in Wilmington, North Carolina. As a result, he had to pay a 250 U.S. dollar fine while also was ordered to undergo alcohol assessment. By 2003, the versatile actor reportedly encountered an incident during his 33rd birthday party as a stranger punched him hard on the sidewalk. Dating actress Joey Lauren Adams, he drew people's curiosity when there was a strong rumor about the love relationship between him and his "Break Up" co-star Jennifer Aniston. Both of them strongly denied the report, insisting they were only good friends. Nevertheless, the truth was on the other way around; they did date each other but later on decided to part ways with representatives for both parties officially confirming the split in December 2006.