'True Detective' Primer: The Darkest Roles from Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn
Earlier this week HBO finally confirmed that both Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn had signed on for the second season of True Detective. And if sources are correct, both men will be joined by Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch, who will round out the series’ four lead roles. The casting news is sure to draw excitement and ire among fans as debate unfolds about whether or not each actor is the right choice.
While it remains to be seen just how each actor does in the series, we rounded up their best roles that serve as a primer to the crime drama.
Most mans of Vince Vaughn know him for his hilarious comedies, such as Wedding Crashers and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, but there was a time when the actor explored a more serious side of things. In 2000's The Cell, Vaughn goes inside the mind of a serial killer (literally) to find the location of his final victim before its too late.
Because Vaughn is playing a career criminal it’s worth checking out the actor’s turn as a murderous stepfather in Domestic Disturbance (2001). Though a box office dud, the film did show off Vaughn’s creep ability to take on much darker roles.
As for Colin Farrell, he’s slated to play a compromised detective in the second season of True Detective. The actor has a long history of playing cops but it’s his breakout role in Tigerland (2000) that’s worth revisiting. In the indie war drama, Farrell plays a Vietnam draftee who is opposed to the war and often at conflict with his superiors.
In one of Farrell’s finest roles, he plays Ray, a guilt-ridden hitman, in the dark comedy, In Bruges (2008). He manages to dial back his overexposed persona and blend into this two-man show alongside Brendan Gleeson.
Up Next: More roles from McAdams and Kitsch
When it comes to Rachel McAdams, there’s more to the actress than Regina George and The Notebook. In 2008's The Lucky Ones, the actress earned accolades for her feisty performance as a U.S. soldier who finds herself on an unexpected road trip with two other soldiers who just returned home.
In Midnight In Paris (2011), McAdams embraced the unlikeable role of Inez, an unsatisfied and selfish fiancée to Owen Wilson’s character. She relishes in a role that is a far cry from the rom-com parts she had become most famous for.
Finally, without knowing what role Taylor Kitsch is up for, we can only look to his best post-Friday Night Lights roles, including Lone Survivor (2013) and The Normal Heart (2014). In the former, Kitsch plays a leader of the Navy SEAL team during a failed counter-insurgent mission in Peter Berg’s bare bones combat film.
As for HBO's adaptation of The Normal Heart, the actor plays Bruce Niles a closeted gay man amid the rise of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City who witnesses the deaths of many of his lovers. It's a quiet but solid performance from the actor who finally shed the misfires of Battleship and John Carter.
Watch Kitsch discuss the roles that scare him in the video below.
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[Photos: Getty, HBO, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures]