Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Vince Vaughn Talks New Netflix Movie, "Nonnas"

Episode Date: May 4, 2025

Willie sits down with Vince Vaughn to talk about his career full of unforgettable roles starting with "Swingers", taking us all the way to his new Netflix movie, "Nonnas". They got together at Enoteca Maria on Staten Island, the Italian restaurant which inspired the movie, and got to meet up with the man behind the true story, Joe Scaravella. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. I am thrilled to bring you my conversation this week with a true icon of American comedy. He is Vince Vaughn. Vince Vaughn doesn't need much of an introduction. You fell in love with them in 1996 with Swingers, that classic independent film that made him a star, written by his buddy John Favreau, who also co-starred with him, it launched a career

that includes movies like old school, dodge ball, wedding crashers, the breakup, Fred Claws, couples retreat, four Christmases,

cameos in Anchorman, Anchorman 2, all those quotable lines that you know so well. And now, the 55-year-old father of two, Vince Vaughn,

is starring in a movie that's a little more dramatic, a little sweeter in its tone. It is called Nona's. It's based on the true story, of a man named Joe Scaravella, who he plays in the movie. Joe's mother Maria was a true Nona, an Italian grandmother, an incredible cook. He wanted to honor her after her passing.

So he started and opened a restaurant called Enateca Maria on Staten Island in New York. The idea behind it when he opened it 18 years ago in 2007 was to have Nona's in the kitchen, just like he had at home. So he hired grandmothers who were great cooks just at home, not professional. chefs to make these meals and it's been a hit. It's a beautiful story. Vince plays the lead. So he and I got together where else to sit down, but at Enoteca Maria. So we're sitting in this conversation right in the scene of this film where he plays Joe himself. So I won't say anything more. You know Vince Vaughn. You love Vince Vaughn. You know his career. Really thoughtful guy, really smart guy. Obviously

a really hilarious guy. So sit back, relax and enjoy now. My conversation. on the Sunday Sit Down podcast with Vince Vaughn. Vince, thanks for doing this, man. Did it be with you? Two guys, a little table in an Italian restaurant. Yeah, tall guys, a small Italian restaurant table. That's exactly right. Kind of tucked into a two-top.

Makes us more comfy. It does. But we're here for a really good reason. Yes. For your movie, we're just talking about Nona's, which is, man, I loved it. It was so sweet, so much heart, comes at a good time, amazing cast. Amazing cast. Were you familiar with what is a true story, or how to,

did you come to it originally? Yeah, you know, I wasn't at all. Joe's here. We're at his restaurant. This is in Stanton Island. And the concept was to have real grandmothers, Italian grandmothers, to be the chefs. And so it was so moving to me when I read it

that you had these older women that got a chance to come and do something they had done to nurture their families through cooking and, you know, their history and to get a spotlight put on them and to be appreciated at a stage of life where sometimes that isn't happening. Yeah, and it is, it's a true story. And he's been here a long time. This is, we're just saying, this isn't like a gimmicky thing.

This is an established restaurant. That model really works to have the nonas in the back. People really connect to it. Yeah, it's like a fabric of the neighborhood. Exactly. Because it's been here, and that's right, having that, I guess it feels like family because you're cooking family recipes. So do you, when you, we're talking to Joe, did you, what's it like, I guess, to play a guy

who has this real-life story. In other words, how do you approach that differently than a fictional role? Yeah, so with this was concerned, I was just really curious, like, what was his passion and what was his plan behind it?

And so it was refreshing, because I remember I came, I sat at that counter with the other actor who plays my best friend, Joe Meginello, and his friend Bruno was here. And so I was asking him, and he was so not concerned

with a business plan, I think the place is only open three days a week. and I was saying, are you going to do other stuff? And he was on to his next idea. It was really about creating the experience. He wanted that experience, you know, the highlighting of the, of the, of the, of the knownas, but also the feeling that the restaurant created, it's since progressed from

being Italian grandmothers to be called Nona's of the world. Yeah. So he'll have a Greek grandmother come in, a Japanese grandmother come in and sharing their recipes. And it was just sort of refreshing that his driving force was creating an experience and to create an atmosphere that he was, you know, interested and curious in with not really any kind of plan to monetize it, which is sort of odd in today's culture.

And that's what I took from him was someone who had a vision for something in the film. Stephen Chbosky, the director and his wife Liz, actually wrote it. And she put some of her own experience being an Italian-American, but also the grieving of a parent. Yes. And so it's that stage of a life where you lose it. parents, someone you're close to, and then you're searching to create that family or that community, what does that look like now? How do I keep that love and that feeling that I was raised with

and sort of share that with other people? And I think in a version of that in Joe's life, it was that. How do you, with food and with restaurant and community, how do we create something that feels connective and not just a place where I'm just, you know, going to eat? A movie called Nonas has to have a bunch of Nona's. And my gosh, The cast that you guys assembled, I mean, Lorraine Brocko, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire, and Brando Vicarro. Yes. Four icons across the board. You had to be thrilled when you heard those four names on the call sheet.

Yeah, it was Murderous Row. And it felt like art-imitating life. I mean, here you have these incredible actors, and the movie really is highlighting and showcasing them in a lot of ways. And so I just had a ton of questions. Tell me, Louise, Godfather. Right. Good fellows. Yeah, I just was, they were so lovely and fun to work with,

but I was really just, you know, a fan trying to get some behind the scenes. Right. Info, yeah. That's interesting. So do you do that? Like, even when you're, like, getting ready for a scene, you're like, let's talk Rocky.

I just worked with Pacino. And so the whole time I was like, because I had worked with Robert DeVal before and the stories from the Godfather, which are now more unknown are so funny to me. Because they were laughing and joking. They were mooning each other. You know, like, you see these powerful scenes.

And they was like, oh, no, we were, this is happening or there was cue cards over here for Marlon. So I always love hearing kind of the, you know, the process and how do they go about doing stuff? And I think there's something for our generation, we were always really, um, had a lot of respect for the people that came before us. I felt like I learned a lot. You know, we loved the movies that were prior to us and how things were done. And so I've never lost that. I still have a great respect and curiosity for, you know, the generations prior.

Yeah, I mean, it was just fun to watch them together, too. It was like watching an All-Star game or something, right? Like sitting around a table or in the kitchen together. It was really fun. Yeah. Do you cook? I mean, is this, was this a natural for you? No, I had to do some lessons for this to get the technique down.

My mom would laugh, actually. But I do some now having kids I'm sort of forced to. I was hearing with you, my mom would cook. And my grandmother was raised in the house with me, so she would cook too. And I remember, like, getting called in from playing outside. and never really wanting to go in. And I'd always be late. They'd be so mad at me.

How'd I let the food sit? And then as you get older, if I just make a grilled cheese sandwich, I feel the same way. I'm like, guys, this thing's getting cold, you know, because you realize, I mean, I think in a way, filmmaking is a little bit like being a chef or cooking

because there's so much time and energy and detail to go into the preparation, and then it's kind of over. Right. The reason you do both, I think, is to share it with people, for people to enjoy it, but there's a lot of energy that goes into doing it. Right, right.

So it is annoying when someone's not putting the energy to eat it at the right time. How about you? Do you cook quite a bit? I do grilling. I wouldn't say I'm a great cook. My wife's a good cook. She has, my mother-in-law is a no-no. So she's got that Italian energy in the kitchen.

Yeah, there's like black magic going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They don't want you around. No, no, when they're stirring the bubbling pot, you better back away. Right? Yeah. So I'm okay out on the grill. but in the kitchen, not as much.

Did you have, I know your father's an immigrant from Naples. My mom's dad is from Naples. That's what I meant to say. Sorry, your grandfather I meant to say. My grandfather is, yeah. He was from first generation from Naples. So do you have sort of a Nona or Nona figure in your life, somebody you look to in this way? Yeah, it was interesting because I had such a different, I think a lot of us Americans,

I had very different pieces of my background. So I definitely, her side of the family was very unique. he had the big tie, like to go to the racetrack, you know, was a pawnbroker, you know, so there was, I definitely was around that as a kid, and my mom definitely, as a big hand talker. And I would know if she was mad, but we would get past it very quickly. Right. Yeah, right. Is your mother-in-law the same?

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know when she has the floor. Yeah. But then it burns off. It doesn't linger, it's over, which is kind of nice. Yeah. And also when she has the floor, it's kind of nice.

She's telling a story or sharing something about the family or whatever. You let the known at the head of the table. She made the meal. She's got the glass of wine. It's her show. That's right. You're just kind of like supporting actors in that brother's show. Exactly.

I'm curious, you must have so many things that come across your desk in terms of projects you could do. You're in the middle of Bad Monkey right now. Yes. Incredible movie ideas. What was it about this that made you say, yeah, I'm going to stop. maybe be away from my kids for a while and take this on. You know, I do think being raised with my grandmother, I felt so fortunate to get her wisdom.

It's an interesting relationship because they're not really parenting you. There's just, it's a different stage of life. So I don't know, we talked a little about this. I've always felt so connected to a lot of the sacrifices that came before me. I think that even being an actor, like, who would have thought that you could have a career? You know, you just did a job to feed your family. So I always felt so grateful for the journeys that they went through, and I was aware of it. So I really got moved when I read the script and the way that it was really focusing on these grandmothers,

these matriarchs of a family that did so much and loved people, and that they get to continue that process, this craft that they're great at, which is cooking, and still loving to feed people and create that atmosphere. So I really like movies that are stories. I'm not much on message stuff like a movie that says littering is bad you know we all know littering's bad I don't need to go learn that littering's bad but I like

something that's dealing with a stage of life and trying to explore it authentically and in this case you're dealing with someone who loses his mom and is trying to figure out you know what's next and I think that's something that everyone can go through and one of the

Stephen Chabaski who did the movie Wonder he's got a great touch with these kinds of things I think there's something that we connect to and seeing someone go through that in the laughter, the pain. You know, if you go through that in a way where you're exploring it, I think there's something like a campfire story where we learn a little bit about ourselves or that experience, or at least see someone else sharing something that we understand. By the way, the littering is bad movie bombed at the box office.

Yeah, I know. It won a lot of awards. People really were impressed with the production value, The editing was amazing. Turns out audiences didn't need to know that littering was bad. But it was an important film. It was an important film. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

Stick around to hear more from Vince Vaughn right after the break. Welcome back now more of my conversation with Vince Vaughn. Okay, so we're talking about family here. Yes. I want to go back to your early days in the Chicago area. Yes. I'm curious where this idea of performance and acting came. for you and what excited you about it?

Yeah, you know, both my parents worked, so they put me in stuff. I played sports and acting. Believe it or not, it was musical theater, but it was all kids playing the parts. So I would play Daddy Warburgs, there wasn't as many guys, and Annie would be older than me,

so it was crazy, you know, but it was just, I kind of enjoyed it, and for some reason I thought it was going well, I get a good response, so I just kept doing it. And then, I started, you know, going to the city and training more seriously, and I got some parts. I cut school one time and got a part in this audition for this, like, what would have been almost like an after-school special.

And then I did commercials. And so eventually I just said after 18, I really liked it, and it seemed to be going well because I was working. I thought, well, go to Los Angeles because that's where they're making these. But I never had a plan, like, well, I'm going to strategize and be in movies. I just thought I'm getting paid and I like it. and each, like when I got a Chevy commercial, that felt like a major break. Teenager. And then when I called my, if I could call my mom and say, I have a line on 21 Jump Street,

you know, that felt like a big deal. So I don't know for you if it was similar, but wasn't it always just the next step? Incremental. Incremental. Well, you start off as a producer behind the scenes. Right. People always think there's some great plan. How do I do it?

What's the road? You can't replicate what either of us have done to get to this table. Once you get excited in an area, you'll meet people, you'll find jobs you didn't know exist. But you just have to commit to the, area that you're interested in. One of the things I've heard you talk about, which I find interesting and so true,

and I think I have some of this too, and I've tried to get to my son, is the sort of diversifying a little bit who you are as a kid, which is to say, you did play sports, you were the president of your class, but you were also in theater. In other words, you don't have to pick the lane and be that. You can be all those things, and it benefits you in the long run, does it not, to know those different pockets of people?

So much so, and I play Dungeons and Dragons. dragons. I mean, I was fortunate that, I think I realized at a young age that a real friend let you be who you are, that there is pressure sometimes. Like, why are you doing that? But most kids, I remember as a kid, I don't know if you ever had this feeling. I was a little late maturing. So I would be like in a store with my mom and I would still be go to the toy aisle and you kind of like get excited for a toy. But then if boys that were older than you came down the aisle, you like put it back quickly or be like, mom, are you sure this is the one my younger brother wants? Like, you know that feeling.

And I think if you can avoid that and say yes to the things that you're curious about, and it's good advice for your son, don't try to fit into what's accepted by the group in the moment. Be curious and allow yourself that permission to explore. And everything doesn't have to be connected to how am I going to make a living or have a job. It can just, you know, it's like wax on, wax off. You thought you were exploring something and enjoying it. And it turned out that that became useful when you did pick a lane eventually. That's right. Yeah. I think it can be hard for a kid in the moment to have that kind of perspective that you and I are talking about because it's socially important to be with these kids or at that party or whatever.

Once you've done, and I understand it. You know, we all feel that way. But we were talking a little bit before filming. And I have kids yours are just a little bit ahead of mine. One entering high school, you have one going into the next phase. the time that they have to check the boxes, I didn't have any of that. And I tell my kids, I don't know how you were, I'm like, you don't have to get a stray day. Like if you try to do your work, that's great. But it's an opportunity cost to the stuff that we're talking about. I felt like I had so much more grace to just discover stuff. But we also had jobs, which I really enjoyed. Did you have jobs in the summer?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Delivered pizza, Renato's Pizza, Richard, New Jersey in my Jeep CJ-7. Didn't you love that feeling? Of course. Did your kids have jobs? Yeah, they're lifeguarding. I did lifeguard.

Camp counselors, that kind of stuff. Yeah. I did landscaping for three summers. Something about getting a check is different than getting a good grade because you actually did a job. That's right. And it gives you a self-confidence. Yes. You get a paycheck.

Yes. You don't have to sit and talk about the value of a dollar. That's right. If you say, well, this is your money. Right. Do what you want this summer. So I feel the one thing as a parent I'm conscious of is it's like an arms race to get into college. And you don't want to be so results driven.

Totally. It's a challenging time, I think. Our parents were not, I mean, we didn't even talk to our parents about this. No, no. And it's also like slow down and enjoy high school. This is not an end. It's not a means to an end. Enjoy the experience. Take it all in, say yes to things. But the movies were saying that to us. The John Hughes movies told us that. It all goes by quickly. You better have some fun. That's right. Now the messaging's different. You better sacrifice everything to get that A. Right. Right. Like when all movies were saying, go play hookie.

Yes. Breakfast Club, you're not so different from the person. Realize you have more in common than not. Yeah. Right? There was a connective humanity to the journey that, at least the art at the time was saying it's okay to be a person. And wasn't that the whole thing with Cameron? Yeah.

That he was happy that the car got destroyed because now his dad was going to have to see who he was and have an honest conversation. Yes. I mean, I don't know. I still kind of, I still believe those things. I miss those movies. Maybe they exist and I'm old enough that I don't see them, but not like that. I don't think in the same way.

I was fortunate enough to know, John. He was a terrific guy and he was from the areas of Lake Forest. But those messages, I think, were celebrating and telling kids it's okay to be an individual. Yeah. You know, it was such a different message. But everything around where I live is all about almost competing with your neighbor. That's right. They're nervous to get into the right high school.

I know. It's so crazy. Kindergarten, depending where you live. Isn't that true? Who's interviewing a five-year-old? It's happening. I guess it should at least be a background check before that happens.

Like, I'm not allowed in the room for my five-year-old to talk about what they want for their future. Like, it's crazy. I know. And they got like a legal pat out watching them play. What are you writing now?

What is going on? It's so true. It's crazy. It is crazy. Well, I let us down that path, but I just thought it was such an interesting and important thing to say. Yeah, well, how was it for you?

You didn't come from a background where journalism would have been... Well, my dad was a writer. Right. He was the trip, Chicago trip, the New York Times. So I had that, but there was never a push toward that. Do you think part of it, were you very close with your dad? Very, yeah.

Do you think part of it was because you dug your dad, you were excited by what he did? Yes. I think that's nice. And not in a way where he was applying pressure, but in a way where I watched his life. Yeah. And he liked traveling and meeting people and talking to people, all those things. So it was something that, you know, I guess subconsciously. Like a family too.

Yeah. Yeah, it's very nice. Yeah, so he has to be very proud of you. Oh, thank you. I hope so. He's a good dude. You too, your parents, I'm sure, right? Do they ever... Yes, but not really. But you're never the same way. Maybe that's why I worked so hard. They were very loving. Both my parents, but it wasn't like they were fawning over me at every stage. No. My mom or so, dad's a Midwestern guy. It's downstate Illinois. Yeah. You know, it's like,

supportive. That would be a lot. Supportive. If you gave you a thumbs up, like you'd hold back tears. Because you never got like, that was an incredible piece. You know what I mean? The lip would quiver. I know, totally. I did it. I finally did it. Yeah, totally.

So back to you. So you get to L.A. Yes. You got a little bit of money in your pocket from the commercials. I did, yeah. So you could go do the L.A. thing at a pretty young age. Yes. But I was doing the math, and there's a pretty good stretch of time before you get Rudy.

Yes. So what are those three, four, five years like for you finding your way in L.A.? What was a wake-up call? I was able to get an agent right away, but I wasn't booking stuff as regularly as I was in Chicago. And Chicago was more of a blessing than I realized because the training in Chicago was really good, but it wasn't like you were going to get discovered to be on a pilot. It was really just about being good in what you were doing that night or the classes. But I think resilience is the best thing anyone can have.

If you like something and you're willing to keep going at it, I was happy. There was a lot of rejection, but I was doing what I liked. I look back now I had an apartment that I paid 500 bucks a month. I mean, you couldn't find that nowadays for rent. So I was in acting classes. I was going on auditions. I had a Thomas guy before you could put stuff in place. I was trying to figure out neighborhoods.

I made friends with people that were in the same industry. So it was about six years or so, I think, before Rudy and then swingers. But I was just committed to getting better. I don't know. There was times I screen tested for stuff and didn't get it. And of course, that's hard. But thankfully, for some reason, I don't know why. You know, looking back, I don't know if you do.

I kind of was just no plan B. I'm going to keep trying to get better at this. And then obviously with Swingers was something that we created because we weren't necessarily getting hired. Right. So it sort of motivated us to create our own thing, which turned out to be, you know, a good thing ultimately. Isn't that interesting that the thing you had to do

to move things along was the thing that became the movie that changed your life. Yes. Because it was real and authentic and you guys were doing it the way you wanted to do it. Correct. When you were making that sort of run-and-gun style, making that movie, I'm sure you thought it was good and funny, but did you have any sense that it would connect

the way it did? You couldn't have. Well, it was crazy. We were crazy enough to think that people would really like it. I think you have to think that. But there was a moment. We had rehearsed it trying to raise money for it for a couple years. so we had read it out like a stage play. So we shot in bars that were open.

We couldn't afford to close. A lot of that movie was made without permitting. But we knew our material so well that we could perform it. But there was a moment when we were feeling like we were doing pretty good. And there was a sound guy who we got, who I think might have worked in the sound department in the adult film industry. But yes, who we could afford to do the sound on ours.

And I remember at some point it came up about how the movie was going. And he said, well, no one's going to see. this. Like, this is fun for you and your friends. This is like a home movie. And we thought, what is he talking about? This isn't a home movie. Like, this is going to be a movie. And it was a little bit of a perspective of these odds are crazy. Like, how do you even think that this could end up, you know, selling and translate? Right. So I do think you have to have a strong belief in the moment, but you are a little nuts, I think, to think that, that obviously this movie's going to go and actually connect with people. You'd met John Faber on Rudy. You guys become buddies and kind of dive

in head first on this project. At what point, Vince, did you realize Swingers was connecting? That something was happening out there that was maybe going to change things for you guys. Yeah, it's how I evaluate stuff. It's when it gets into the culture. You know, when the

sayings or the lingo becomes part of the everyday vernacular, or ESPN started saying, he's so money, he doesn't even know it, or a big beer with claws, or fangs are beautiful baby. So when these things started being used within the culture, you said, oh, we connected, something you know, something landed here

with these conversations. And I do think, you know, going through a breakup and being a friend and inspiring someone to move on is something that's relatable. But there have been other movies that have attacked that and you guys connected in some other way. I think you're right. It was just performances, for one thing.

Right? Like your character was such a charming, charismatic draw that I think people came to that for sure. I think the music was interesting. Like, when we went to make it, they wanted us to have it be grunge music, because that was popular at the time. But in Los Angeles, what was authentic was a bunch of these ex-punk rock bands formed like these 12-piece swing bands and started writing original music. So it's just what we knew.

When we would go out at night, we would go to these swing clubs and go hear these live bands. And so we said, no, it can't be that. It has to be this. And I think that for whatever reason, it struck a chord with the country at the time. So like the Brian Seltzer Orchestra, all that stuff. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Big bag, voodoo daddy. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I was kind of looking at your stretch after that. And you get into some, like, heavier roles after that, right? You do Jurassic, which was right after that. Right.

But then you get into Cool, Dry Place. You play Norman Bates in Psycho. There's a long list. It's almost like four or five years before you go back to that kind of comedy. Was that a conscious thing? Like, I've made a name for myself. Because I remember watching as a fan, I was like, oh, okay, like you were the guy. It's Vaughn from Swingers.

And then I was like, okay. he's going for like leading man stuff now. Right. Was that something you thought through? No, you know what it was is comedy always kind of came easy. I enjoyed it, but I was always interested in acting and doing different stuff. And Swingers was independent. So I actually turned out a lot of big movies.

I didn't know any better. And I just was interested more in doing these characters stuff. And then, and none of the comedies were really, I wasn't liking the comedy scripts that I was seeing at the time. time. And then Todd Phillips came to me with old school. And I thought, this is really cool. This is fun. This is a little bit defiant. And then the odd thing was at the time, I hadn't done, Swingers was a while ago. The studio said, I don't, you know, he's a good actor, but is he funny? Can he do comedy? Because, you know, Swingers was this smaller movie from years ago. And Todd had

had to really fight for me to be in old school. I think he showed him a clip of me on a talk show to convince them that I could be light and funny. Yes. And that, And, of course, then the door was open where there was this great run where the young people were in charge without anyone telling us not to do it. And it became this run of, you know, wedding crashers or, you know, Dodgeball and then the breakup, which is kind of a hybrid of like, you know, drama and comedy where we were kind of left alone to explore stories, which is what I'd love to see today with, when you talk about you don't have those high school movies now. I just don't think they're letting these young people go and tell the story. stories and they should leave them alone and let them, you know, express whatever it is that the culture is saying for them at this age. Which is so crazy to me because if you look at those movies you just listed, those are $300,000, $200 million, $250 million movies. Yes.

That were comedies. Like, wildly popular, which raises the question, wouldn't you want to go back to something that had succeeded so well not that long ago? You know, I was talking to some of the guys now that, in the studio stuff, but the one genre that never, the genre that was always made for not a lot of money that could hit and do well was horror and comedy, because you could make it for a price. Horror never went away. People still would go see a horror. I mean, it's a jump scares. But the comedy they got nervous about for some reason, trying to make sure that they were not offending anyone. The stand-up comics now, they'll pay a lot of money for the comics special. Stand-up comedy is kind of filled that void. But,

It'll come back. Someone will have the courage to make a comedy. Don't forget, before old school, there wasn't a lot of our comedies being made. But when we were young, we grew up with, you know, Blues Brothers and Stripes and all those great movies and the John Hughes movies, you know, weren't our, but we grew up being inspired by those. And then there was a time where it wasn't happening. So these things go in cycles. When I think about that run of movies starting with old school, actually, I'll go back to Maid, which I think is, It's a very underrated movie. Yeah, I love that movie. The first movie Favreau directed and I produced, because we had, you know, Swingers, Doug Lyman came in and made that. But I don't know why that's underrated, because it's really good and really funny.

And I own that DVD and about melted it, including with the outtakes, when you and Favreau were sitting across from Peter Fault. I'm trying to get through that scene. Yes. When he's giving you the plane ticket and you're trying to Cardiff Giant and all that stuff. That's right. Oh, my God.

That's a great movie. Well, what made for us was like, Swingers was so light and optimistic. We wanted to do something different. We didn't want to make the same album. So we did a darker, otter version, which we really liked. And it's found its place as far as occult, but it never had the mainstream popularity in the same way. But I quite love that movie.

People should go back and check that out. That's a really, really good movie. So you, through that run of movies, you represented almost an archetype of a kind of guy in that time. By that, I mean, somebody who's funny and charming and good with the ladies and talks fast and all that. Do you recognize that for a while there, there was an entire generation of guys who kind of tried on your personality for a little while? And then I went and I consciously went to destroy that with the breakup. So the breakup was my idea and I wrote it and I was sort of in that space. And I thought, well, this will be interesting. What if I do a movie about a relationship where that guy

actually goes to the girl feeling bad about the dynamics of the relationship and sees things differently and really has changed in a genuine way

but the girl has moved on at that point where she loves that he got there, would have died for that earlier, but now too much has passed in she can't go back you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

And so part of the breakup, when I had the idea, I kept getting offered romantic comedies, and it was always the same thing, where there'd be some problem, the guy would change, and then they would accept him, the girl would accept him, and they'd go on and have a better life. And I thought, well, what happens if she doesn't?

And I had played that character who was that character, and I don't know why I did that, but I thought, I want to kind of break the expectations of that and show maybe a side where he's not, And it lives separately, like, the character from Swingers is a fun, optimistic, good friend. So it's not connected. It's not, you know, Trent is not that character of Gary. Even in old school, he is fun and out there, but he doesn't cheat on his wife.

He values his family. He says, you know, hey, but here's my number. If my wife gets cancer, I'll give you a call, but he's not going to cross the line. But I was conscious with the breakup that I wanted to do something different in the genre. and I also knew I had this kind of persona. And so it was a way for me to kind of also break that persona and give an odd twist of what your expectations would be. That's so interesting.

So it was a conscious thing. Was it ever hard, Vince, to be that guy in that era out in the world, which is to say, like, when you go to a bar, people are expecting Trent. Yes. Was that ever, I don't want to say a burden, because I don't think you would ever say that. But was that ever odd to have to be that guy all the time?

Well, it takes you a second to, figure out being known. I was lucky because I really like people and I, I, you know, I was always, you know, hanging out. And so it wasn't that much of a problem. I think the thing that became interesting was just realizing that people are in pain. And I didn't know that younger in the same way. Like people have a problem with a sibling or a family member is sick or they're having a trouble at work. And the comedies make them laugh. So I would have people come up to me later and say, say, when my mom was dying, you know, super heavy, we would watch dodgeball over and over because it would really make her laugh.

I wasn't aware of that. So some of that of the guys coming up is you're a friend that they've already spent time with. Right. They share a connection with you that you're just not aware of. And so it takes you a second to figure out that, you know, they're, especially with comedy, I think, they're responding to something. and you learn how to kind of appreciate that and be connected to it. Does that make sense?

Yeah, 100%. Yeah. And I'm sure that reframed it for you. Oh, okay. Yeah. And you realize sometimes if you don't have the energy, you don't put yourself in that situation. But if you're out, you know, most times, and it's nice.

Especially kids or something, you know, that part's easy. So you just, I think it takes a second to figure out kind of how to interact in that space. right? I'm sure you've had that in you sure right because you're you're you're bringing information and discussing stuff and it's in a great conversations and so people start with you probably in that space and you're like I haven't even said hi to you right right right or especially when you cover the news especially these days yeah they go right at something an issue which is fine yeah I mean I don't want to go too deep on I want to with my kids but yeah yeah but you know what if someone watches the show all the time and they have a thought

thought about it, you engage them a little bit. I don't want to get the screaming match with you on the stream. In the right, with some boundaries. Yeah, yeah. For sure. Not a green light. No, no, not a green light. It shouldn't be. No. Stick around for more of my conversation with Vince Vaughn right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Vince Vaughn. So you can't play those characters you play without actually having a lot of the charisma that those characters had. So how close is Vince Vaughn to that guy that we all loved

through those movies You know I think all of us have different It was back to the Breakfast Club I think we all have different sides to ourselves We just get rewarded For whatever gets the most

Approval I guess from others Right Right like we have the academic We have the jock we have this I just think a sense of humor Served me well in life I had a lot of You know I had areas

I had success in like you mentioned But I also had failures There was things I wasn't good at And I found that having a sense of humor About stuff Not taking myself serious was just a way that I enjoyed my life and I like people. You know, I find myself to be optimistic.

So, you know, helping a friend pass a breakup or this, I think I just, I think most of us with our friends are that way. So, and I don't know, I always liked, language was fun to me and thinking of original ways of expressing stuff was just fun to me. Just like being a smart ass in class. Right. You know, find a way to. bring a perspective that that was funny to something. And mix it up a little bit, put some energy in the room, all that kind of stuff.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had your friend Will Ferrell on the show a few weeks ago, and I asked him, what are the quotes from his movies that people yell at him the most? He had a pretty long list of them. Yeah. I have to imagine you do, too. Is it Swingers, number one, top of the list?

Or it's all over the place? It's all over the place. I mean, I don't know if some of them are fitting for... Go ahead. We've got to be... Well, you know, I hear just the tip. You know, ass out hug. Of course, your money, baby.

Yep. Yeah, you know, it's different. It's funny now when I have younger, you know, is those things are discovered. But, yeah, some of them are, like, just, like, part of the language. Yeah. I think people don't even remember where they're from sometimes. Earmuffs is part of the language.

Yeah, that's exactly right. People do that to their kids. I've had people do that in front of me not even realizing that it was from old school. And I don't think they even know it's from old school. No. It's just part of the lexicon. Yeah, just part of the lexicon. That's right.

Yeah. You've got some deep cuts, too, though. I mean, the breakfast with Owen and wedding crashers. Right. I'm going to choose not to eat with you. Yeah. It's just so crazy. You're setting healthy boundaries.

Like, you're accepting the fact that we're coming back together, but I'm going to need some space because the wound is, it's so crazy, right? I'm going to recharge my engines. I'm going to get it. I need some time for me. I'm going to do some self-care of what I'm going to do. And then I'm back in the game being a friend and a supporter. Right.

But I'm overwhelmed and I need a second to catch my breath. It's nuts. It's a great thing. You have your back to them while you're eating, just jamming the waffles and everything in your face. I love you, buddy. I love you, too. That's right. And that I think is the core of what we all want.

Yes. And those friendships. Same kitchen table sitting with the priest and wedding crasurers. That was improvised a lot of that. Was it? It felt that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A little bit of the sacrament.

It's so crazy. It was knowing where the scene needed. to go where I have to give up information that's going to cost Owen that we're not who we said we were. So how do you find that in a way that felt honest in the moment and hide from the audience that we're not just giving away the plot? So it's this kind of state that you're in where you're this cracked open wound and you're connecting with this guy in a one-way conversation and you're supplying all the emotion.

I think I kiss him at some point. On the lips at the end. I give a big, like, I feel like, God, we really, although I'm the only one that's sheer, I make it like, God, this was like a great moment between two people who may not have ever hung out or known each other, but was so, you know, honoring this moment, and it really, you know, kind of blew it from my friend.

It was a one-way street. Yeah, it was a one-way street. Yeah, he was great. That's a tough performance. He did a great job of listening and reacting and not giving it away. Yeah. You could call him a beautiful man.

He said, I love you and kissed him on the left. That's right. I don't know what just happened. How did we go from? This guy told me his problems to feeling like we're soulmates. That's exactly right. That was amazing. You mentioned your kids.

Do they appreciate your movies yet? Too young? Don't care. Like, where do they fall? I never showed them my movies, but I've had it happen where they've gone to friends' houses. Right. And then for some reason,

these parents would show them the movie and they would come home and know what it is. But they don't track it too much. You know, I do show them a lot of movies, not mine, but I don't mind showing them. our movies and, you know, I show them stuff. But yeah, I don't, I don't really show them my films.

I don't really watch my films, to be honest. Is that right? Yeah, I like them. I enjoy them. Like, stuff comes on, I'll go, oh, yeah, and I'll remember that day. But I think once you go through sometimes a festival process or you've gone through screenings of it, that you've kind of seen it and done it. And so you don't really share it.

But no, I don't have pictures up of myself for those things in the house. I don't want that dynamic. I'm with you, dude. You know what I mean? I have a good thing with Mike because, like, my daughter's 14, and people always say, you're lucky she talks to you. I can't understand her not. Are you the same way with your daughter?

I'm the same way. Yeah. I always say it's not inevitable just because they're a teenager that they become a jerk. Yes. You have some control and say in that. You create a good family, and it's just not that way. And you want to have fun and enjoy it. And I can recognize, like, we can step out and recognize the moment.

You're going through changes. Yep. This feels emotional. I can appreciate that. But now we've got to take a step back and think about, you know, what's going to work for you. Yes. And so, I don't know. I think it's most relationships in life, you know.

If you have an idea in mind for what you want to get to, then you're going to be better than just landing there. But I don't pretend to have the answers of what's right as far as what my kids do. but I do feel that there's basic things like, you know, being thoughtful will give you better friends, you know, treating people kindly. You'll have a better group of people to hang out with and, you know, over talking or being mean to somebody. So there's basic things like that that, I don't know, maybe your dad sounds like was the same as mine that way where we were just conscious of other people, which I think is a good thing for kid. 100%. It starts with your brother or sister. Totally.

Be kind of them. That's challenging. That's the hard part. But it's like, have a little laboratory attempting to be nice. You think like you nailed it and then someone's getting hit. Yeah. Did we talk about this? Did we talk about walking away when it escalated?

Just talked about that. Literally just talked about it. And you nodded your head, got it. Yeah. Last thing before I let you go, I want to talk to Bad Monkey. Yes. We got a season two coming, right? Yes.

That's official. 100%. What a fun, cool, visually cast all of it. What a cool series. how much fun has it been for you? So much fun. I mean, Carl Huyason wrote these incredible books, and he's done it before, but they never quite translated as well. And I think it's Bill Lawrence.

I mean, obviously, there's no secret with Ted Lassau and shrinking and all the great stuff that Bill has done. He's a very talented storyteller. You know, mixing comedy and action, and these genres can be hard. He's really the key behind it. And I think it was fun. You know, it's a comedy.

You're told that it's interesting. But there's some dark turns and some surprising stuff. And I think it's, we don't see it. Those things put together so well. So I think that's why it really resonated with people. It's fun. It's fun. And season two, I know you're probably just beginning to think about it.

No, we're gonna start shooting it here in September. Oh, you are? Okay. So we've been, we've kind of known longer than was announced that the season two was coming. Right. So it's just been figuring out the schedule. So we're excited. Yeah, it's gonna be, it should be fun. And fun to have, like, I guess you think about one season when you start up now, it's like,

oh, where else can we take these characters, right? It doesn't have to end at the finale of season one. It's like, there could be a whole new world for them. Yeah, I always think, like, there would be three of these, and that's probably it. Like, I still don't, I like the idea of having a story to tell, and I don't know that, I can understand the next stage of it and maybe a third stage, and then after that, I don't know. like maybe go find something new to do. It's nice to have the time to explore it more in storytelling

like you have with these 10 episode streamers. And then depending on the show, you know, obviously something like I Love Lucy or Sanford and Son is timeless because it's the situations. But in these stories, I don't know how much it'll go past that. But there's definitely a fun place for the character to go and for the world to go after the conclusion of the first season.

Well, congrats. I know a lot of people are psyched to see you back in a series like that. It's really good. Appreciate that. Congrats on Nonas. Thank you, man. And on your upcoming film about littering, which will be... Yeah, that's an important one.

And I just want to get that message out there, not to litter. And I think everyone needs to be reminded. Keep it in the car. Don't... Don't throw it out the window. And hit me over the head with it. But I had to. Because I know better than you.

I had to. Thank you for signaling of virtue. Good to see you, man. That's fun. I really enjoyed it. Thanks. After Vince and I sat down in the restaurant, we went outside in Staten Island for a bit of a stroll.

and caught up with Joe Scaravella himself, the man he plays in the new movie, Nonas. When you first opened, was it challenging to get people to come or do people like it pretty immediate? So it was very funny. We put an ad in the Italian newspaper, the American Oji, and was written in Italian.

It was Cherkasi, Casalinga, Cuccanada, regional difficulty, looking for housewives to cook regional dishes. and so the restaurant was being built out so I invited them to my home so they all came to my home and they came with their husbands and they came with their children

and they came with their grandchildren and it was amazing that's amazing and they were all chasing me around the house with plates of food they wanted me to try their food so what happened was when we had first opened up none of the ladies wanted to be in the upstairs kitchen so we had three or four

known as in the downstairs kitchen. And the restaurant was empty upstairs. So one of the ladies, and her name was Maria, and she wasn't a good cook, but she liked to hang around with the ladies, so she would help them in the kitchen. So she got down on her hands and knees, and she prayed to Padre Pio that we should have customers. 15 minutes later, we had a half a restaurant full of customers.

Wow, wow. She brought that picture of Padre Pio in the next day, and we put it there. It's been there ever since. So for people don't know, Joe, the genesis of this idea, we see the story in the film, but for people haven't seen it, where did it come from for you? So for me, it was, it was really, I was just trying to comfort myself. And basically, a lot of people related to that. And a lot of people are going through different things in their life with losing family members.

And so that's, I think that's what the big attraction. And how do you get the knownness in the door? sort of talked about it a little audition process almost. And you've changed it. It's not just Italian nonas anymore. They're from around the world. What's the process by which you get the known is here? So, you know, we'll get an email or we'll get a phone call or it could be a family sitting

at a table and they'll volunteer their mother or they volunteer their grandmother. And, you know, we'll pick a day and we sit down and we talk about the menu and we talk about the ingredients and then we put them on the schedule and that's pretty much it. but it was so accurate when, you know, basically they almost burnt down the restaurant in the movie. Right. And you were outside and you were like, you ladies are killing me.

And, you know, that vibrated. I went through that so many times. That was an improv. I improvised that line. Because they were going, I said, you're also killing me. What are you going to say at home? I'm not going to yell at an honest.

No, you can't yell at an honest. And they don't listen to you anyway. Right, exactly. They're not used to listening to anybody, so it's... They've earned that at that age, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. So trying to direct them to, you know, follow health code or, you know, whatever other.

Yeah, they're not interested in that. No. So my grandmother, when she would cook, she would make a pot of sauce and she would make a few things in, and she would put it on top of the stove. It would stay there all day. And you got a little hungry. You went back and you grabbed something and you picked a little bit. You can't do that.

Health Department frowns upon that. Yeah. What did you think when you heard Vince Vaughn was going to play you? in a major movie on Netflix? You know, it's just, it's too unreal to think that, that Vince would play me. But, you know, I still don't believe it, really. It's, it's, I can feel it welling up inside now.

I'm starting to get anxious. But really, I've been just keeping it in my back pocket the whole time, trying not to think about it, because it's too much to digest. But it also started with you. I mean, what a... Unbelievable, I don't know where it came from. You were coping with your own pain,

but to give these women the spotlight and to bring attention to them, it's like everything rippled from that moment. Right. In that moment, you saw other things were happening aside from me just trying to comfort myself. You saw these ladies being comforted. They lost their husbands

and their family would bring them in. And as part of a bereavement group, and have them get out of the house. And we had a very interesting moment with our Greek known, a Plomitza. You'll meet her tonight. And so they brought their mom to us, and she was all dressed in black, and she was visibly disturbed by the loss of her husband. And so we did the interview, and we talked about the dishes that she was going to cook

and the ingredients she was going to need. And we were doing something a week out with CNN. or BBC or something, and I said, how would you like to come in and be part of this? And so, you know, she reluctantly agreed. So when she came in and they had miced her up and they were giving her all that attention and so I was in the front with her children and their children turned to me and they said, you know, we haven't seen our mom this happy in a long time. So there was, there's that.

That's nice, yeah. That's great. That's great. What went through your mind when you watched the movie? I cried through the whole movie. So, you know, it's such an amazing cast and director, and, you know, it just is too much, you know. Did a good job with the story, Vince.

Yeah, the director really good, who's here, Stephen Chabowski, has got a great tone. So much of a movie is tone. He grabs onto your heartstrings. So you have real moments that you laugh, but also have the weight of the situation, which is, you know, morning a mom. And so many people are going through that same thing, or it's on the horizon, and they're getting

ready for it. Well, you had a beautiful idea, and I'm so glad it's worked out and continues. There are almost 18 years you just had? March 1st, 18 years. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. Thanks.

Yeah. Thanks, Joe. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate you, buddy. Congrats. My big thanks again to Vince for a great conversation, and to Enoteca Maria on Stats. Latin Island for hosting us. The film,

Known Us, begins streaming on Netflix on May 9th. My thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear more of these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews in Living Color. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.