Vin Diesel

Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and filmmaker. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Vin Diesel
Diesel at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Mark Sinclair

(1967-07-18) July 18, 1967
Alameda County, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • filmmaker
Years active1990–present
Partner(s)Paloma Jimenez (2007–present)
Children3
Signature

Diesel began his career in 1990 but struggled to gain roles until he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial (1995). This attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg, who was developing Saving Private Ryan (1998), and re-wrote elements of the film to allow Diesel to appear in a supporting role. Diesel subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999) while gaining a reputation as an action star after headlining the Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick film franchises.

Diesel voiced Groot in four films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). He also voiced the character in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Diesel has also earned commercial success in other genres, such as in the comedy The Pacifier (2005), while his performance in Find Me Guilty (2006) was praised. Diesel portrayed the comic book superhero Bloodshot in its 2020 film adaptation, and is slated to appear in the Avatar sequels.

He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.

Early life

Diesel was born Mark Sinclair[1] on July 18, 1967,[2] in Alameda County, California, with his fraternal twin brother, Paul.[3][4] His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), is an astrologer.[5][6] Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity".[7] His mother has English, German, and Scottish roots.[8] He has never met his biological father, and has stated that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures".[9] Diesel has self-identified as "definitely a person of color",[10] and has stated that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws.[11] He was raised in New York City by his white American mother and African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.[4][10][12]

Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police.[13][14][15] Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor.[16]

Career
Diesel in 2005

Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the drama film Awakenings (1990). In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial, a semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling multiracial actor stuck in the audition process. The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival.

In 1997, Diesel made his first feature-length film, Strays, an urban drama in which he played a gang leader whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series. Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel after seeing him in Multi-Facial[17] and cast him in a small role as a soldier in his 1998 Oscar-winning war film Saving Private Ryan. In 1999, he provided the voice of the title character in the animated film The Iron Giant.[18]

In 2000, Diesel had a supporting role in the drama thriller Boiler Room, where he appeared alongside Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck. He got his breakthrough leading role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black later that year. Diesel attained action hero stardom with two box office hits: the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), and the action thriller XXX (2002). He turned down the chance to reprise his roles in the sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005).[19] Instead he chose to reprise his role as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick, which was a box office failure considering the large budget.[20] He also voiced the character in two spin-off video games and the anime film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. In a change from his previous action hero roles, in 2005, he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which was a box office success.[21]

Diesel with the Fast Five cast and Natalie Morales for Today in 2011

In 2006, he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance,[22] the film did poorly at the box office grossing only $2 million against a budget of $13 million.[23] Later that year, Diesel made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and the Furious.

Diesel's main car, a Dodge Charger, from Fast & Furious

In 2007, Diesel was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D. which was a critical and box office failure. Diesel returned to The Fast and the Furious series, alongside most of the principal cast from the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which was released in April 2009.

Diesel reprised his role as Dominic Toretto in installments five through eight of the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), and The Fate of the Furious (2017).[24][25] He reprised his role as Riddick in the third film of The Chronicles of Riddick series, simply titled Riddick (2013). In August 2013, Diesel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy.[26] He starred in the supernatural action film The Last Witch Hunter (2015).[27] In 2016, Diesel appeared as a supporting character in Ang Lee's war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

In 2017, Diesel also reprised his roles as Xander Cage in XXX: Return of Xander Cage,[27] and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[28] Over the course of several years, Diesel has discussed playing two separate roles within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[29][30][31][32][33] In November 2016 director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, confirmed that Diesel had been in talks to play Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt for the planned Inhumans film, but it was turned into a television series instead without Diesel involved.

Diesel reprised his role of Groot once again in the crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) which combined the superhero teams of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. He has said, "[I] think there's gonna be a moment that we're all waiting for, and whether you know it or not, you are waiting to see [Groot] and [the Hulk] get down."[34]

Diesel portrayed Valiant Comics character Bloodshot in the film of the same name[35] which released in March 2020. He is also joining the cast of James Cameron's Avatar 2.[36]

In September 2020, Diesel announced his venture into music, with the release of the song "Feel Like I Do", produced by Kygo.[37] He debuted the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show on September 24, stating: "I am blessed that on a year that I would normally be on a movie set — and as you know, that's not possible — I've had another creative outlet. Another way to show you, or share with you, my heart."[38]

Personal life

Diesel has said he prefers to maintain the privacy regarding his personal life, stating: "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors. I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence."[39]

Sometime around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast & Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez.[40] Since 2007, he has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez; the couple have three children: daughter Hania Riley (born April 2008),[41][42] son Vincent Sinclair (born 2010),[43] and daughter Pauline (born March 2015).[44] The last is named in honor of his co-star and friend Paul Walker, who died in November 2013.[45] He is also the godfather of Walker's daughter, Meadow.

Diesel is noted for his distinctive deep voice; he said his voice broke around age 15, giving him a mature-sounding voice on the telephone.[46] He has played Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years,[47] and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. Canadian video game designer and developer Merritt k created the 2015 ASMR game Vin Diesel DMing a Game of D&D Just For You based on his D&D fandom.[48][49][50][51] He has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic and how he relates to its multicultural facets.[52] He is acquainted with its former president, Leonel Fernández, and appeared in one of Fernández's earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was filmed in the Dominican Republic.[53]

Filmography
Diesel at the premiere for Fast & Furious in 2009

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Awakenings Orderly Uncredited
1995 Multi-Facial Mike Short film
Writer, director, producer
1997 Strays Rick Writer, director, producer
1998 Saving Private Ryan Private Adrian Caparzo
1999 The Iron Giant The Iron Giant Voice
2000 Boiler Room Chris Varick
Pitch Black Richard B. Riddick
2001 The Fast and the Furious Dominic Toretto
Knockaround Guys Taylor Reese
2002 XXX Xander Cage Executive producer
2003 A Man Apart Sean Vetter Producer
2004 The Chronicles of Riddick Richard B. Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury Voice
2005 The Pacifier Lieutenant Shane Wolfe
2006 Find Me Guilty Jackie DiNorscio
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Dominic Toretto Uncredited cameo
2008 Babylon A.D. Hugo Cornelius Toorop
2009 Fast & Furious Dominic Toretto Producer
Los Bandoleros Short film
Writer, director, producer
2011 Fast Five Producer
2013 Fast & Furious 6
Riddick: Blindsided Richard B. Riddick Short film
Voice
Riddick Producer
2014 Guardians of the Galaxy Groot Voice
2015 Furious 7 Dominic Toretto Producer
The Last Witch Hunter Kaulder
2016 Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Shroom
2017 XXX: Return of Xander Cage Xander Cage Producer
The Fate of the Furious Dominic Toretto
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Groot Voice
2018 Avengers: Infinity War
Ralph Breaks the Internet
2019 Avengers: Endgame
2020 Bloodshot Ray Garrison / Bloodshot Producer
2021 F9 Dominic Toretto Post-production
2022 Avatar 2 TBA Post-production
2023 Avatar 3 TBA Filming
Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2004 The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay Richard B. Riddick Voice
2009 Wheelman Milo Burik
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Richard B. Riddick
2020 Fast & Furious Crossroads Dominic Toretto Voice and motion capture
2022 Ark 2 Santiago Da Costa[54] Voice and motion capture; Also executive producer

Theme park attractions
Year Title Role Venue
2015 Fast & Furious: Supercharged Dominic Toretto Universal Studios Hollywood
2018 Universal Studios Florida

Discography

Singles
Title Year Album
"Feel Like I Do" 2020 Non-album singles
"Days Are Gone"

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1999Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by a Cast
Shared with the rest of the cast		Saving Private RyanNominated
Online Film Critics Society AwardBest Cast
Shared with the rest of the cast		Won
2001Blockbuster Entertainment AwardFavorite ActorPitch BlackNominated
2002MTV Movie AwardBest Male PerformanceThe Fast and the FuriousNominated
Best On-Screen Team
Shared with Paul Walker		Won
Black Reel AwardBest ActorNominated
2003MTV Movie AwardBest Male PerformancexXxNominated
Teen Choice AwardChoice Movie Actor: Drama/Action AdventurexXx
A Man Apart		Nominated
2004Spike Video Game AwardBest Performance by a Human MaleThe Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher BayNominated
2005Teen Choice AwardChoice Movie Actor: ComedyThe PacifierNominated
Golden Raspberry AwardWorst ActorThe Chronicles of RiddickNominated
Video Software Dealers Association AwardMale Star of the Year[55]Won
2009Spike Video Game AwardBest Performance by a Human MaleThe Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark AthenaNominated
MTV Movie AwardBest Male PerformanceFast & FuriousNominated
2010People's Choice AwardFavorite Action StarNominated
2011CinemaCon AwardAction Star of the Year[56]Fast FiveWon
Teen Choice AwardChoice Movie ActorNominated
2012Image AwardOutstanding Actor in a Motion PictureNominated
Black Reel AwardBest Cast Ensemble
Shared with the rest of the cast		Nominated
People's Choice AwardFavorite Action StarNominated
2013Teen Choice AwardChoice Movie: Chemistry
Shared with Paul Walker & Dwayne Johnson		Fast & Furious 6Nominated
2014People's Choice AwardFavorite Action Movie ActorNominated
MTV Movie AwardBest On-Screen Duo
Shared with Paul Walker		Won
2015Phoenix Film Critics SocietyBest CastGuardians of the GalaxyNominated
Teen Choice AwardChoice Movie Actor: ActionFurious 7Won
Choice Movie: Chemistry
Shared with the rest of the cast		Nominated
2016People's Choice AwardsFavorite MovieWon
Favorite Action MovieWon
Favorite Action Movie ActorHimselfNominated

References
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  2. "Famous birthdays for July 18: Vin Diesel, Kristen Bell". United Press International. July 18, 2019. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019. Actor Vin Diesel in 1967 (age 52)
  3. Paul Sinclair birth record at California Birth Index. Retrieved on March 29, 2015.
  4. "Vin Diesel Biography (1967–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  5. "Vin Diesel: From nightclub bouncer to action hero". CNN. August 12, 2002.
  6. "Vincent, Irving H". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  7. Vincent, Mal (June 22, 2001). "'The Fast and the Furious' Vin Diesel Opens the Throttle in New Speed Movie and Joins an Elite 'Action-Star' Fraternity". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, Virginia. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  8. "VinDiesel explains why Glasgow was perfect to shoot Fast 6". May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  9. Carter, Gregory T. (2008). "From blaxploitation to mixploitation: Male leads and changing mixed race identities". In Beltrán, Mary; Fojas, Camilla (eds.). Mixed Race Hollywood. New York: New York University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0814799895.
  10. "Diesel is running hot". Jam.canoe.ca. February 17, 2000. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  11. Chu, Hanna (August 26, 2013). "Vin Diesel receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame". KABC-TV. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
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  13. Krulik, Nancy E. (November 1, 2002). Vin Diesel: Fueled for Success. New York: Simon Pulse, Gallery Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-0689859823.
  14. Vincent, Mal (August 9, 2002). "xXx". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, Virginia. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  15. Wloszcyna, Susan (June 4, 2004). "Vin Diesel, driving on a tankful of cool". USA Today. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
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  18. The Iron Giant (1999), retrieved January 9, 2018
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  46. Vin Diesel on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on YouTube
  47. Diesel in Adler, Shawn (n.d.). "Vin Diesel of 'The Chronicles of Riddick Interview". UGO.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
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  54. "ARK II Announcement Trailer (1440p Final Version)". ARK: Survival Evolved. December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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