Vince Vaughn has always been widely praised for his iconic comedic performances, but one of his more nuanced dramatic turns in True Detective season 2 remains criminally underrated. Since he broke out in the ‘90s, Vaughn has been primarily known for his comedic roles in movies like Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Along with frequent co-stars Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell, Vaughn became renowned as a member of the “Frat Pack,” a group of actors who dominated the comedy genre with movies like Old School and Zoolander throughout the 2000s.

But Vaughn has always mixed more complex dramatic roles into his filmography alongside those iconic comedic performances. He played Norman Bates in the 1998 remake of Psycho, the hard-edged Sergeant Howell in the World War II epic Hacksaw Ridge, and vengeful prisoner Bradley Thomas in the brutal action thriller Brawl in Cell Block 99. These dramatic turns have been very hit-and-miss — while he was lauded for his work in Hacksaw Ridge and Brawl in Cell Block 99, his portrayal of Bates has nothing on Anthony Perkins — but one of Vaughn’s best performances is still hugely underappreciated.

True Detective’s Frank Semyon Is One Of Vince Vaughn’s Best Performances

True Detective Season 2 Proved Vaughn Could Play Dark Dramatic Roles As Well As Lighthearted Comedic Roles

Vince Vaughn looking serious in True Detective season 2 Vince Vaughn looking off-screen in True Detective season 2 Vince Vaughn sitting in a restaurant in True Detective season 2

Vaughn gave one of the best performances of his career in True Detective season 2. He played Frank Semyon, an entrepreneur in the criminal underworld who’s been struggling to keep his illicit business afloat following the death of his partner. Semyon starts to spiral when a deal gone wrong costs him most of his money. Vaughn was cast drastically against type in the role, and there was initially some skepticism that the star of Dodgeball would be able to pull off the role of a murderous mob boss, but he ended up knocking the role out of the park.

True Detective season 2 aired from June 21 to August 9, 2015.

There is some pitch-black humor baked into Semyon’s arc in True Detective season 2, but for the most part, the role doesn’t make use of Vaughn’s comedic talents. The primary purpose of this character is to be tough and intimidating — when he beats people to death, the audience needs to be scared — and Vaughn nailed that; he shed his usual comic affability and adopted a much more sinister persona. The fact that Vaughn typically appears in goofy comedies made this menacing transformation all the more impressive.

Vince Vaughn’s Casting In True Detective Mirrored Matthew McConaughey’s

Both Vaughn & McConaughey Were Known For Comedy Before Their Grim True Detective Performances

Matthew McConaghey with long hair and a mustache as Rust Cohle in True Detective season 1

Vaughn’s inclusion in the True Detective season 2 cast mirrors Matthew McConaughey’s casting in season 1. Like Vaughn, McConaughey had been previously known for starring in mostly comedy movies. Whereas Vaughn mostly appeared in bromantic comedies like Wedding Crashers and The Watch, McConaughey was one of the biggest names in the romcom genre. He’d starred in romcom hits like The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which were beloved by audiences but not so much by critics.

And like Vaughn, when he signed on to appear in True Detective, McConaughey was coming off a string of movies that didn’t work and really needed a win. The change of pace brought on by a dramatic role in a grisly HBO crime drama turned out to be just what each respective actor needed to get their career back on track. McConaughey’s True Detective role led to “The McConaissance,” while Vaughn’s True Detective role led to more gritty, violent roles in the likes of Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Dragged Across Concrete.

True Detective Season 2 Failed To Live Up To Its Great Casting Choices

True Detective Season 2 Had An A-List Cast With C-List Material

Rachel McAdams, arms folded beside Colin Farrell in a scene from True Detective season 2.

Vaughn isn’t the only major movie star that HBO cast in True Detective season 2. Alongside Vaughn, Colin Farrell plays the crooked Detective Ray Velcoro, Rachel McAdams plays the wayward Detective Sergeant Ani Bezzerides, and Taylor Kitsch plays the conflicted Officer Paul Woodrugh. After the monstrous success of season 1, no actor in Hollywood would turn down the chance to appear in season 2. But unfortunately, season 2 turned out to be a huge step down in quality from the first season.

Nic Pizzolatto had been writing season 1 for years — initially in the form of a novel (via The Hollywood Reporter) — so he had plenty of time to flesh out the storylines and characters, and the result was a deeply complex narrative web with rich themes and three-dimensional characterization. But after it was a massive hit, HBO wanted him to turn around a second season in just over a year, so he had to rush the writing process. This meant True Detective season 2 was nowhere near as thoroughly developed as its predecessor (and unworthy of the A-list acting talent involved).