Matthew McConaughey turned his career around in epic fashion, going from leading forgettable rom-coms to starring in a series of excellent dramas. His McConaissance was made complete this year with the one-two punch of an Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club and an Emmy nomination for his lead role in HBO’s game-changing True Detective. One of the aspects of the latter series that was so widely admired was its success in handing McConaughey an extremely complex and fascinating character to work with.
Casting is currently under way for True Detective‘s second season, which is likely to give another actor a chance to showcase sizable dramatic chops. Colin Farrell has snagged one of the lead roles, and Taylor Kitsch is still in talks for another. Today, TV Line revealed that it has learned which actor may be gearing up for a McConaissance of his own by taking on another lead role in the second season, and it’s… Vince Vaughn?
That’s right – the star of Wedding Crashers, Old School and Swingers is in negotiations with HBO to portray one of the four lead characters. Details are nonexistent as of right now, but this news is certainly intriguing. It’s worth noting that, despite his penchant for low-brow comedies, Vaughn has in fact been taking on more challenging, dramatic roles lately. He recently filmed Term Life, a crime thriller with Hailee Steinfeld, and he has thrillers The Risk Agent and Gunslingers, in addition to road trip drama Triple Time, all lined up. Vaughn has also taken on serious roles before – remember his driven FBI Agent Novak in The Cell? Or his Norman Bates in the Psycho remake? (Though we understand completely if you’ve consciously tried to forget that last one.)
Plot details are still scarce for the second season of True Detective, which is expected to air next year. We’ve heard some preliminary story ideas that evoke Chinatown, and it will reportedly tap into the “psychosphere ambience” of California. Beyond that, not much. Oh well – you know what they say. All good things come to those who wait.