Vince Vaughn jokes about not getting along with Primate in ‘Bad Monkey’

Bad monkey it’s not just the title of Vince Vaughn’s new Apple TV+ series; the phrase could also apply to his primate scene partner, according to the actor.

Crystal the Monkey – who has over 30 credits to her name, incl The hangover part II and Night at the Museum — plays the titular monkey in the show, which is adapted from Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 book of the same name. It follows ex-Miami detective Andrew Yancy (Vaughn) who is demoted to a restaurant inspector in the Florida Keys; an unusual new case could bring him back to the department if he can get past a strange cast of characters and a monkey.

Although Vaughn admitted that Crystal is “a talented monkey,” he joked The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday, “I’ll never work with that one again. He talks about oxygen consumption on set, it’s like, “I got it.” Manipulators, large entourage – unapproachable.”

The star continued: “People would warn you about her – ‘Don’t come up behind her.’ Many rules on set, very uncomfortable. I’d rather be honest with everyone there than put on a front like we got along – we didn’t get along.”

Showrunner Bill Lawrence had a slightly different version of the story, teasing, “I think we all felt safer that Crystal the Monkey has worked on more shows and movies than any actor, writer or actress on the show. She was the most professional; she was horribly wrong because she’s actually a really good monkey.”

The series, which also stars Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney, Natalie Martinez and Zach Braff, marks a team-up with Vaughn and Lawrence after 25 years of friendship.

Lawrence—also in the back Scrubs, Ted Lasso and It shrinks – said he knew Vaughn would be a good fit for the role in the book, Hiaasen “describes Yancy as an imposing guy who can be menacing at times, does questionably skeletal things, is very joke-driven and nervous about the people he interacts with . and yet somehow still likeable. It’s a hard thing to do without being someone that people don’t support.”

He continued, “I knew it was the right decision the moment we got to Miami, when we were walking around for work; everyone approaches Vince as if they were old friends and he meets them with the same humility. No one says, ‘Hey, I’m a big fan,’ they say, ‘Vince, you’re so hot!'”

Vaughn, renowned for his improvisational and quick-witted comedy skills, noted that his approach to the show was to “try to evolve lines — sometimes you’re great with what you’ve got, but it’s not something planned in advance, it’s just if a there happens a moment when you go with him.” Lawrence added of Vaughn’s style: “He’s a guy of high integrity. He always takes one as written because he knows I care about the book, then he plays and sets up others.”

Bad monkey begins streaming on Apple TV+ on Wednesday.