Vince Vaughn: It's Oz, Bro

After seven years of rejection, Vince Vaughn came to fame with a one-two punch that included the tiny Swingers, and the gigantic The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Here, the former small-towner talks, in his inimitably cool style, about his good fortune, his love of gambling and girls, and the film he made with Steven Speilberg's wife, The Locusts.

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Vince Vaughn is minding his own business while sitting at an outdoor cafe when a beautiful blonde woman strides up and looks him right in the eye.

"I finally saw Swingers last week," she announces, referring to last year's comedy about two lovable losers who cruise L.A.'s cocktail scene looking for "beautiful babies" like this one. "I thought you were great."

"Thank you very much," says Vaughn.

"I should smack you for it, how 'bout that?" jokes the blonde, slithering off.

"She's pretty beautiful, don't you think?" Vaughn says to me as the girl disappears into the cafe. "You should have turned on the recorder and given the kid a shot."

If Vaughn thinks lucky shots are what actually get you ahead in this business, he has reason. Since Swingers was released, everyone's been giving this 27-year-old a shot. He landed a starring role opposite Steven Spielberg's wife, Kate Capshaw, in the small drama The Locusts. Then he was cast in The Lost World: Jurassic Park _by Spielberg. Next year he'll be in _Clay Pigeons, with Janeane Garofalo and Joaquin Phoenix, and A Cool, Dry Place with Joey Lauren Adams. And after that he'll star in Force Majeure, which is based on Bruce Wagner's novel. Two years ago, Vaughn's resume had only a bit part from Rudy and a Chevy commercial on it.

"There goes the beautiful baby," I say as the blonde comes out of the cafe, jaywalks across the street and jumps into her truck like a cowgirl. "She's so hot for you she can't stand it."

"Nah, it's the weather," says Vaughn. After a long sigh he continues, "A beautiful woman who doesn't use the crosswalks and drives an American-made truck. I can't wait to start dreaming tonight."

DENNIS HENSLEY: Has playing Trent, the lady-killer in Swingers, affected your dealings with women?

VINCE VAUGHN: Probably some. I've always dated a lot of girls, but I never approach it in a conquest way, like, "I have to have her." Playing Trent has confused things, though. People know you before you meet them. And there's a little bit of the "Are you Trent?" which is, you know, whatever. There's a pro and a con, but I haven't found the pro as strong as the con yet.

Q: Have you encountered any crazy women?

A: Oh yeah. Crazy, bro. I've had girls walk up to me at a party or bar and just wrap their arms around me and kiss me.

Q: When the kiss ends what do you say?

A: "Nice to meet you." That stuff sounds appealing, but it's awkward, because where do you go from there? I love girls, believe me, I'm not offended at all. But it's just new to me. I don't know what to make of it.

Q: I like interviewing actors who went through years of having no one give a damn, because they're just so happy to have made it. Do you still feel like that?

A: Totally. After the seven years I've had of rejection it's like, "How blessed am I to come from Lake Forest, Illinois, and have a chance to be in these films?" It seems strange to even reflect like this, because, man, two and a half years ago, like at three in the morning, I would have so much frustration inside that I would go outside and walk around and try to get a game plan together and think, "What am I not doing?"

Q: Did you ever give yourself a deadline to be successful?

A: My time line kept getting pushed because it wasn't realistic. Like when I moved out here at 18 I thought I needed to be at least established by the time I was 22, because that would be the time when someone would get out of college. When that didn't happen I brought in the grad school metaphor.

Q: What films did you come close to getting?

A: I was the bridesmaid on about four or five projects. Like I went to the final pizza party for Dazed and Confused. They brought in something like 30 kids, ordered pizza and just paired everybody up. They sent home half the kids.

Q: You probably had a pepperoni stain on your chin.

A: Maybe I drooled. That's the thing--when you get that close and you don't get it, you can get really in your head and go, "Was it what I wore?"

Q: What was your first day on the set of The Lost World like?

A: Jeff [Goldblum] came up to me right away and said, "I love Swingers," which was a big deal because I was awkward coming in. I'll always appreciate that he did that for me.

Q: We missed you in the San Diego scenes where the T-rex munches civilians. What happened?

A: It was never in the script that I was in the San Diego scenes. My resolution on the island didn't come off as strong as it should have been, but I didn't want to be in the San Diego scenes anyway. I figured my character is kind of a selfish guy. He did what was right on the island, but this isn't his life crusade.

Q: Did you get to approve your Lost World action figure?

A: No, not at all. It doesn't look a thing like me. I know kids will break it and burn it and I'll probably get the voodoo doll effect from it.

Q: Are there any women who might be sticking pins in it as we speak?

A: [Laughs] Maybe a few.

Q: Which of the following dolls would your action figure most like to look up the skirt of: Barbie, Cher or Princess Leia?

A: Barbie, because she's the unattainable. You never really heard Barbie talk, so she can be anything you want her to be.

Q: How would you want her to talk?

A: Like a lady in public, but a bad, bad, naughty schoolgirl in the bedroom.

Q: Did you get the part in The Lost World because you were making The Locusts with Spielberg's wife?

A: I think it was unrelated. I already had the meetings with The Lost World before Kate was cast in The Locusts. But Steven did come down to the set when we were rehearsing. I had my shirt off and I was strangling Kate and I was like, "Oh my God, the last thing I need is her husband here."

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