In 2003, Vince Vaughn was busy filming "Old School." In 2004, it was "Dodgeball," and a year later he wound up starring in the wildly popular "Wedding Crashers." With a seemingly endless string of hit movies under his belt, you'd think that he might try branching out into drama or maybe even action. Wrong. As part of a nationwide comedy tour he began almost a month ago, Vaughn will be coming to Madison's Barrymore Theater Monday night.

"I wanted to bring great comedians to the Midwest," Vaughn said in an interview with the Badger Herald. "Before, you had to go to New York or L.A. to see a great comedian, but now we are bringing it to people's backyards. The show has been absolutely phenomenal. It's really been overwhelming and the fans coming out are ecstatic about the show."

Vaughn has been traveling around the country emceeing "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Tour." The tour started back on Sept. 12 in Hollywood and will make its way to Madison Monday before wrapping things up in Chicago Tuesday.

"These are the next generation of the best young comics," Vaughn said. "Absolutely the funniest guys out there. Some have been on Comedy Central, the Tonight Show — some have their own up-and-coming shows. They are simply the best in America."

While the tour differs from many other comedy tours in that Vaughn and company perform every single night in a different city, he said the tour has been going great thus far and has been a welcome change to an otherwise hectic schedule.

"Initially, I didn't know about the 30-day part, so the schedule has been tough with a different city each night," Vaughn said. "Movies are my passion, but [this tour is] fun because it's different. You're out there live in front of an audience and it's just a different feeling. I've really enjoyed having a chance to perform live."

Many of the comedians doing stand-up and performing improv are long-time friends of Vaughn's. Almost all of them were picked from the Comedy Store in Hollywood, a nationally known comedy club where many major comedians get their starts.

Those heading out to the Barrymore Monday to see the show can watch Bret "Captain America" Ernst continue to make waves within the entertainment community. Ernst has been offered a number of guest roles on various television series like "CSI New York." More recently, you can find Ernst performing stand-up on such shows as "The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn" or headlining shows like "Beacher's Madouse" at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.

Another "Kilborn" veteran is John "The Ohio Player" Caparulo. The Ohio Valley native has made a number of memorable appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel show as well as the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Kilborn's show seems to be the common element tying many of these actors together, as another "Kilborn" veteran, Sebastian "The Hit Man" Maniscalco is next on the list of headlining performers. A Chicago native, Maniscalco grew up in the same region as Vaughn. One of the more diverse stars of the tour, Maniscalco performs stand-up, has started receiving acting roles on network television and often writes skits.

Rounding out the list of headlining performers is Ahmed "The Eyptian Lover" Ahmed. At only 19 years of age, Ahmed has an impressive acting resume including appearances on "Roseanne," "JAG," and MTV's "Punk'd," and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. He'll be appearing in the upcoming "Onion Movie" and is a regular performer at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

While the name of the tour certainly utilizes the recognition that comes along with an emcee like Vaughn, the heart and soul of the tour is found in the up-and-coming performers. Though Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller won't be making appearances Monday night, the way Vaughn talks about his "Comedy Show" brings promise of an entertaining evening.