Evil Monkey has officially wormed its way into the hearts of Apple TV+ subscribers, and fans of Bill Lawrence’s Carl Hiaasen adaptation will be thrilled to hear that the cast had as much fun working with Vince Vaughn as we did watching.
Before Evil MonkeyAt the premiere on August 14, Decider joined a Zoom call with star Charlotte Lawrence – who makes her TV debut in the series as rebellious teenager Caitlin Stripling – to chat about everything from working with her father, Creator Bill Lawrence to a joint appearance with comedy icon Vince Vaughn.
The 24-year-old aspiring actress not only raved about Vaughn’s talent on screen, but also told an incredibly sweet story from the filming that “set the tone” for the entire shoot.
“My very first scene that I did for Evil Monkey was with Vince. It was one of the first scenes in the pilot, at the funeral, and I met him and he was so nice. He saw me in the makeup chair earlier that day and explained everything he knew to me. I think he could see how nervous I was, and he couldn’t have been more loving and helpful,” Lawrence told Decider. “And we were on set. We were doing a take. And he made the funniest joke and improvised a little bit. I just wanted to support him and let him do his thing. So I was just impressed. I’m such a fan of his. And they said ‘cut,’ and as they were resetting, he whispered a joke in my ear to say back to him. He was like, ‘OK: If I say this, you say that.’ And I was like, ‘OK. OK.'”
The next time the director called “action,” Lawrence explained, she followed Vaughn’s instructions and something magical happened. “I did it and everyone laughed. And they said ‘Cut!’ and the crew laughed and Vince was like ‘That was all Charlotte!’ (He gave me) full credit and immediately gave me so much confidence and set the tone for the whole rest of the shoot,” she said. “He was just so nice. Oh my God, he’s the best.”
From Natalie Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith and Ronald Peet to L. Scott Caldwell, Alex Moffatt, Zach Braff, Crystal the Monkey and more. Evil Monkey The cast is absolutely stellar, with Lawrence sharing most of her scenes with Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney, both of whom she described as “wonderful.” But acting alongside Vaughn, who plays Andrew Yancy – a demoted Miami Police Department detective investigating the death of Caitlin’s father – was a dream come true.
“Honestly, I know this sounds like fake press nonsense – whatever. I’m dead serious. Take a lie detector test with me… Vince Vaughn is probably my favorite comedian of all time,” Lawrence said. “I’ve been in love with his work since I was a kid. From Swingers To Made To The Wedding Crashers“I think everything he’s done is phenomenal, and he has a way of acting that is so unique to him. He’s so generous, he’s so lovely, he’s so smart. And I think his superpower is this improvisation, this hilarious comedic timing, all that stuff – he makes it seem so effortless and so authentic, which it absolutely is.”
Speaking about her newfound love of acting, Lawrence stressed, “I have to work a lot harder and a lot more and get my 10,000 hours in,” while she said that Vaughn “has put in his 100,000 hours and really worked so hard on his craft.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” Lawrence said. “It was a mind-blowing moment that I had my first acting job with the best of the best.”
New episodes of Evil Monkey Premieres Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
