Vince Vaughn

Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.

He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy Swingers.

He was introduced to musical theater at a young age and decided to become an actor in 1987.

He has credited his mother as the inspiration behind his career, saying that "I saw her overcome stuff, and I thought if you worked hard at something you'd give yourself a chance".

He then moved to Lake Forest, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988.

In 1988, Vaughn was cast in a Chevrolet television commercial and subsequently moved to Hollywood.

He appeared in the 1989 season of the television series China Beach and in three CBS Schoolbreak Specials in 1990.

His first film role was 1993's Rudy playing Notre Dame football tailback Jamie O'Hara, where he also struck up a friendship with Jon Favreau, who was also a first-time actor.

Two years later, he was cast in a lead role in a proposed revival of 77 Sunset Strip that was to air on the fledgling WB Television Network, but the project ceased development after initial testing.

Vaughn did not receive wider success until his role in 1996's Swingers with Jon Favreau.

Swingers was released in July 1996 and became a successful independent film.

Vince's father Vernon also did a cameo in this film.

Vaughn further appeared in the sci-fi actioner The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), the dramas The Locusts (1997) and Return to Paradise (1998), the Western South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), and the thriller Domestic Disturbance (2001).

Afterwards, director Steven Spielberg cast Vaughn in the 1997 blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park which gave him increased exposure.

He followed that up with the lead role in The Locusts the same year.

In 1998, he starred in the critically acclaimed drama Return to Paradise with Anne Heche, and starred in Clay Pigeons with Janeane Garofalo and Joaquin Phoenix.

In 2000, he starred in The Cell with Jennifer Lopez and in 2001, appeared in Made, another film penned by Favreau.

Vaughn also appeared in Dwight Yoakam's directorial debut movie South of Heaven, West of Hell.

Vaughn's comedy films include Old School (2003), Dodgeball (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), The Break-Up (2006), Fred Claus (2007), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), The Dilemma (2011), The Watch (2012), The Internship (2013), Delivery Man (2013), and Unfinished Business (2015).

Vaughn's role in the successful 2003 comedy Old School skyrocketed his popularity.

In 2004, Vaughn appeared alongside Ben Stiller in the hit films Starsky & Hutch and Dodgeball.

After this series of roles, Vaughn was dubbed one of the Hollywood "Frat Pack", a group of actors who frequently co-star in film comedies.

He subsequently appeared in 2005's Thumbsucker, Be Cool, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Also in 2005, Vaughn starred alongside Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million at the United States box office.

In 2006, Vaughn starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy drama The Break-Up.

In 2007, Vaughn starred in the Christmas comedy Fred Claus, as a sarcastic, wild-at-heart older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti).

The film was directed by David Dobkin, who previously directed Vaughn in Wedding Crashers, and co-starred Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Spacey.

Next, he momentarily moved from comedy to drama in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild, a film about the adventures of Christopher McCandless, which was also a best-selling book by Jon Krakauer.

In 2008, Vaughn starred in his second Christmas comedy, Four Christmases, with Reese Witherspoon.

The film portrays a couple who struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas.

In 2009, he starred in Couples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort.

Malin Åkerman played his wife.

He starred as Frank Semyon in the second season of the HBO anthology crime drama television series True Detective (2015).

He has occasionally returned to serious genres with roles in Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017), and Dragged Across Concrete (2018).

Vaughn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

His mother, Sharon Eileen (née DePalmo; born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada), is a real estate agent and stockbroker who was once ranked as one of the United States' top money managers by Bloomberg Wealth Manager magazine.

His father, Vernon Lindsay Vaughn, worked as a salesman for a toy company.

As a child, he was raised both Protestant and Catholic by his Catholic mother and Protestant father.

He has Italian, Irish, English, Lebanese, and German ancestry.

Vaughn grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where he played football and baseball and wrestled, although he has called himself "unathletic" and "very average" at high school sports.