You may not recognise the name of Crystal the Monkey, but you are without a doubt familiar with this primate actor, as this animal is the very same Hollywood sensation that brought to life Dexter the monkey in Night at the Museum and the drug dealing monkey in The Hangover Part II. Crystal is also a leading star in the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, a show that is headlined by Vince Vaughn, a comedy veteran that has found himself feuding with his primate counterpart.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Vaughn notes and recognises the talent of Crystal but also jokingly mentions that the monkey had a bit of an attitude.
“I’ll never work with that one again. Talk about sucking up all the oxygen on a set, it’s like, ‘I got it.’ Handlers, big entourage — unapproachable.
“People would warn you about her — ‘Don’t come up from behind her.’ Lot of rules on the set, very uncomfortable. I’d rather be honest with everyone out there than create some facade like we got along — we didn’t get along.”
Of course Vaughn was just playing around, something that showrunner Bill Lawrence affirmed in a follow-up comment, adding: “I think we all felt more secure 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 horrible miscast because she’s actually a very good monkey.”
While you can catch the opening of Bad Monkey on Apple TV+ today, you can also check out our review of the series right here.