Q&A With The Break-Up’s Vince Vaughn

Q&A With… The Break-Up’s Vince Vaughn

by Susan Hornik

Vince Vaughn

By Susan L. Hornik

The star shares with us what matters most in a relationship—and the quality that really wins his heart.

	*What made you want to write The Break-up?*
	I actually had the idea ten years ago, because I loved the movie The Odd Couple. And as I got older, I realized a lot of people were buying places together because they didn’t want to spend money on rent. They wanted to have ownership and make their money work for them. I had some friends who ended up in that position, where they were no longer wanting to date the other person and were not married, but no one could afford the place on their own. So it seemed kind of modern in that!

	You’ve definitely made films that singles and couples can relate to.
	It’s just my sensibility, I like stuff that’s kind of character driven, exaggerated for comedy—like the scene in Swingers where he calls five times and leaves that message for the girl he just met at the bar to call him. It’s funny but it’s also really painful. And I like that in The Break-up, you look at the male-female drama and laugh at it and then you have a more serious, complicated side that’s very truthful.

	The chemistry between you and Jennifer Aniston jumps off the screen…When did you realize, we’re making art here but this could be something real?
	In addition to liking her acting, I liked her as a person right off the bat. I think she’s terrific!

	Your character is a tad self-centered when it comes to his relationship. Are you similar?!
	In relationships, I’ve always not been as extreme as how my character is. I think that we all have different sides of ourselves! I don’t normally like to do dishes. I do them though, and I do contribute. As I’ve gotten older, more so… You’re open, and you enjoy it more. But when you’re younger, you don’t really like it that much.

	What do you think is the key to a good relationship?
	I think friendship is the biggest thing. And, for me, a sense of humor. I like someone that can make me laugh because I like to laugh at stuff, especially myself.

	In the movie, you have dinner with the more than slightly weird relatives of your girlfriend. Have you ever had a similar experience?
	I’ve learned that you don’t really make comments about your girlfriend’s family. It doesn’t go well. You always kind of get roped into it though. It’ll start off like, ‘My cousin’s kind of weird,’ and you go, ‘Kind of weird? Penn & Teller’s kind of weird. Your cousin is completely off the reservation!’ And then they’ll get mad about you. ‘What’s wrong with my cousin? When I got kicked out of whatever school, my cousin was there for me, so don’t talk about my cousin!’ You can’t win. They can say whatever they want about their relatives but your response should always be “Seems OK to me!”

Contributing entertainment editor Susan Hornik lives in Los Angeles.

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