The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub speaks to Vince Vaughn about his role in the new AppleTV+ series,
Bad Monkey
.
Vaughn shares excitement about working with show creator Bill Lawrence, and his approach to comedy and shooting.
Vaughn teases an upcoming period gangster piece alongside Adrien Brody, directed by S. Craig Zahler.

Known for his quick wit and idiosyncratic delivery, Vince Vaughn jumps into the comedic detective space in this new Apple TV+ show, Bad Monkey. He plays police-officer-turned-health-inspector Andrew Yancy, who tries to attain his former glory by solving a case where a tourist finds a severed arm. With strange locals and a meddling monkey to deal with, Yancy tumbles into a whirlwind investigation that is also adapted from a novel by Chris Hiassen of the same name. Vaughn is joined by Michelle Monaghan (The Family Plan), L. Scott Caldwell (The Fugitive), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2), Meredith Hagner (Search Party), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Natalie Martinez (La Promesa del Returno), Ronald Peet (First Reformed), and Jodie Turner-Smith (After Yang).

Vaughn tells Collider’s Steve Weintraub about how the source material and Bill Lawrence’s involvement in the project initially drew him to Bad Monkey. He also explains his approach to comedy, where he tries to strike the right balance between reading the script and collaboratively improvising. Vaughn also teases an upcoming project with S. Craig Zahler, who he had previously worked with in Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Dragged Across Concrete. Hear all this straight from Vaughn in the video above, or you can read the transcript below.

Bad Monkey After getting bounced from the Miami PD, a former detective is demoted to restaurant inspector in the Florida Keys. An unusual new case might get him back in the department if he can get past a trove of oddballs, and one bad monkey.Release Date August 13, 2024 Seasons 1

Vince Vaughn Is Working on a Film With S. Craig Zahler
Image via RLJE Films

COLLIDER: I’m gonna start with the most important question up front. It doesn’t have to do with Bad Monkey. When are you and S. Craig Zahler making another project together?

VINCE VAUGHN: This year or the very beginning of next year, me and Zahler are doing a movie. He wrote an incredible period gangster piece set in New York in the ’50s, and Adrien Brody is gonna be in it as well. It’s gonna be cool. I’m excited.

First of all, I wasn’t expecting you to actually give me concrete info, so I’m over the moon. That is fantastic. Does it have a title?

VAUGHN: Yeah, The Bruiser and The Bookie. It could be The Bookie & The Bruiser, but it’s those two gentlemen together.

Are you the bookie or — you’re the bruiser?

VAUGHN: In this one, I’m bruising.

Vaughn Was Excited About Working With Bill Lawrence on ‘Bad Monkey’
“I’ve known Bill for almost 30 years.”
Image via Apple TV+

You are very selective with doing TV. The last time you did, it was True Detective. What was it about this material that said, “I wanna do this; this is for me?”

VAUGHN: You know what’s funny is, I was always thinking of doing something in the detective space that had some comedy but also real stakes. I was talking about it, and then this came to me. I’m a fan of Carl Hiaasen; I hadn’t read this book yet. And Bill Lawrence is one of my favorites. I’ve known Bill for almost 30 years. We used to play in a poker game together when we were kids, and he was always very funny. He was doing stand-up at the time, and I’ve gotten to watch how well he’s done as years have gone by and enjoyed his work. When he came to me with this, I was really excited, and he’s so good at this kind of storytelling. The tone is so important, where you’re buying the world and their stakes, but the characters’ personalities are fun and comedic.

The tone of this is unique, and it could easily go off the rails.

VAUGHN: Very true. These are the most fun when you can pull that off. But it takes a craftsmanship to do so.

How Much of ‘Bad Monkey’ Is Improvising vs. Script?
“Writing is improvising.”

Your delivery of lines is so good that sometimes I’m not sure — is this scripted, or is this Vince just saying shit in the scene? Because I see people in the background just laughing, and this is legitimate laughter. How much is this scripted? How much is it right before the take, you’re like, “I’m just gonna do this?”

VAUGHN: There’s a great script. Bill’s very funny, but I think coming from comedy, he’s also collaborative. Writing is improvising; there’s nothing, and you’re making up lines. [Improvisation is] just doing it out loud. Sometimes in the morning I’ll come to him, or he’ll have ideas, or I’ll say, “Is this a fun way of saying this?” And then we do play around. We have such great actors, like Meredith [Hagner], Natalie [Martinez], John [Ortiz] — so many talented people — Michelle [Monaghan], Jodie [Turner-Smith]. I feel like once I start naming, I can’t stop because they’re all great. We would just play around on the day sometimes. It was a good combination of having good stuff, but we were always able to go with the poem and explore whatever was happening. So, both would be the long answer.

There are just some scenes with you and Natalie, it looks to me like she is just laughing from what you’re saying.

VAUGHN: She was great. We had fun bantering and there were definitely some real moments in there. The script was funny in playing the scenes correctly, as well.

Vince Vaughn Doesn’t Get Nervous Before a Shoot
“It’s like the first day of school.”

As an actor, what do you never want to see in a script? Like, “character is forced to throw up” or “has to go in a dirty ocean.” I’m just giving random examples.

VAUGHN: You know, as you get older, those are concerns. Well, freezing outside naked — that doesn’t feel like a fun shoot, right? That would be one to avoid. Swimming with sharks — that could be an uncomfortable scene day. Those are some of the obvious. [Laughs]

You’ve done so many different roles over the years. What is it like for you the night before the first day of filming something? Are you still nervous? Do you sleep well? Are you thinking about how you’re going to play a scene?

VAUGHN: That’s a great question. It’s only like the first day of school, so I’m excited. I’m prepared, but it’s all new. It’s getting to work with people, the anticipation. The first day of shooting, I usually have a harder time going to bed that first night. I would say it’s more excitement and anticipation than it is being nervous. Doing scenes, I don’t really get nervous. I feel like you’ll realize that [scenes] will require things that maybe you’re not comfortable with before you start shooting. You might have some fear or questions then, and that’s where you try to address it and prepare. So, as you move into shooting at that point, I’m kind of excited. I can’t wait to get to the set. I’m excited to jump into these scenes and am looking forward to it by the time it lands. So, any of the trepidation is earlier and that’s always a sign of, “What do I need to think about or work on?”

The first two episodes of Bad Monkey are available to stream on Apple TV+ with subsequent episodes dropping every Wednesday.

Watch on Apple TV