HOLLYWOOD - So you're not quite sure "what" ethnicity he is? And you're not fully sold that he's a natural-born thespian? As well, you brush off those pesky recent rumors, figuring "macho-ism" in Hollywood is a Pandora's box.
Yet somehow, you remain addicted...wanting to know more--see more--because at the end of the day, no matter what's pondered, one thing remains true: Vin Diesel, ex-bouncer, international action star, who's taken the world by storm, represents the American ideal that his predecessor Ahhhrnold underscores: with hard work, and working it hard, anything is possible.
Before you do a Saturday night mad dash to the theater to see his upcoming Babylon A.D., let's take a photo album glance back at trail blazed by this new dad, who's given birth to a career, filled with: questions, promise, deadpan one-liners, tattoos, stunts, muscles, speed--and an ever growing fan base.
From action-junkies freaking for the Fast and the Furious franchise to soccer moms rooting for him in The Pacifier, the Spielberg-plucked actor has already proven he has the chops--yeah we're quiet Find Me Guilty fans--so embrace his mystery and enigmatic draw as that's what keeps you coming back for more.
Reacquaint yourself with "Vin the Invincible"...who may just be your governor in 2018:
Photo(s) by Adriana M. Barraza- © 2005- Hollywood Media Corp.- All Rights Reserved
A mercenary with a soft spot.
Babylon A.D.
Release Date: August 29, 2008
Logline: Veteran-turned-mercenary Thoorop bulks up to take on the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to China. Little does the over-sized babysitter know that the woman is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah.
Fun Fact: After a year in L.A. Vin returned home to NYC and credits the book his mother gave him, Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices by Rick Schmidt, as the one resource above all upon which he built his career and that inspired him to make his own film he wasn't going to get the roles he was looking for.
Photo(s) © 2008- Warner Bros.- All Rights Reserved
It's all about perception.
Multi-Facial
Release Date: January 1, 1995
Logline: Mike is a multifaceted actor but feels like he's pigeonholed and the casting directors only see him as one-dimensional so he takes his life into his own hands and branches out as an actor using his mutiracial background to his advantage.
Fun Fact: The multi-talented actor wrote, produced, directed and starred in the short film based on his own experiences as an actor, which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
Photo(s) © 2008- Warner Bros.- All Rights Reserved
When you stray from the group you'll find yourself relying on one person...you.
Strays
Release Date: January 1, 1997
Logline: A macho cruiser, Rick, comes of age, frustrated by the repetitious grind of one night stands and aimless hustling; soon the steady drug dealer is looking for meaning and intimacy in his life.
Fun Fact: Vin proved to be very crafty and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature film, Strays.
Photo(s) © 2008- First Look- All Rights Reserved
The mission is a man.
Saving Private Ryan
Release Date: July 24, 1998
Logline: A team of soldiers, including the jacked up, muscled-up Private Caparzo, fresh from the beaches of Normandy, is assembled to find and save Private Ryan who has lost three brothers in combat.
Fun Fact: He was born on July 18, 1967 along with his fraternal twin brother Paul. The two boys astrological signs is Cancer. His mother was a psychologist and astrologer.
Photo(s) © 2008- Paramount Pictures- All Rights Reserved
It came from outer space!
The Iron Giant
Release Date: August 6, 1999
Logline: A huge, metal-munching, but lovable iron robot has gotten himself tangled up in high-voltage wires behind a young boy’s home who ends up saving him from the power plant and becoming his friend.
Fun Fact: Vin's trademark gruff, deep voice proved him to be the perfect match to the animated Iron Giant. And to boot, his shaved head and muscular physique just happened to mimic that of the grandiose giant.
Photo(s) © 2008- Warner Bros.- All Rights Reserved
Anyone who says that money is the root to all evil, doesn't have it.
Boiler Room
Release Date: January 20, 2000
Logline: Big brother type and ultimate dude Chris Varrick takes Seth Davis, a 19-year-old college dropout, under his wing when he lands a job as a broker for a seedy suburban investment firm, which puts him on the fast track to success.
Fun Fact: Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career.
Photo(s) © 2008- New Line Cinema- All Rights Reserved
Fight evil with evil.
Pitch Black
Release Date: February 18, 2000
Logline: A dangerous, misunderstood criminal, Richard B. Riddick, is being transported to prison in a cargo spacecraft. Riddick breaks loose when there's a crash landing but ends up joining forces with the crew to develop a plan to escape the planet...and a fiendish alien murderer with a nose for blood.
Fun Fact: The sought after actor was being offered three franchises at the same time--Pitch Black, xXx, and The Fast and the Furious--and he could only choose one...Pitch Black won out--maybe due to the uber-shades he'd get to sport?
Photo(s) © 2008- Universal Pictures- All Rights Reserved
When the sun goes down, another world comes to life.
The Fast and the Furious
Release Date: June 2, 2001
Logline: The hot-bodied, smart ass Dominic Toretto drives the streets of LA like he owns them. As far as his crew is concerned, he does. He spends his days rebuilding high performance race cars and perfecting the art of computer controlled fuel injection. Hmmm...wonder what he does during the night?
Fun Fact: Vin gained a lot of his street smarts working as a bouncer in New York City for nine years at the famous, glamspot nightclubs Tunnel (which has since closed) and Mars.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2001- Universal Pictures- All Rights Reserved
A new breed of secret agent.
xXx
Release Date: August 9, 2002
Logline: Xander "XXX" Cage is a notorious underground thrill-seeker who, until now, has been deemed untouchable by the law. NSA Agent Gibbons forces XXX to cooperate with the government to infiltrate an underground Russian crime ring to avoid going to prison.
Fun Fact: Vin received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel, referring to his non-stop energy. His actual name is Mark Vincent.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2002- Columbia Pictures- All Rights Reserved
How many friends can you trust with your life?
Knockaround Guys
Release Date: October 11, 2002
Logline: Street smart Taylor Reese finds himself in the middle of Montana in a search to find a lost bag of money that is urgently due back to the mafia, the "rightful" owners.
Fun Fact: When he was a kid he called his biceps the “kryptonics”...apparently he was a fan of Superman.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2002- Columbia Pictures- All Rights Reserved
Love changes a man. Revenge tears him apart.
A Man Apart
Release Date: April 4, 2003
Logline: The cool and confident Sean Vetter grew up on the mean streets of Los Angeles, but he and his childhood friend work together as DEA agents, fighting a seven-year war to stem the virulent drug pipeline along the U.S./Mexico border, sometimes running into familiar faces.
Fun Fact: He hit his stride and in 2003 when Vin was ranked #46 in Premiere magazine’s annual Power 100 List.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2003- New Line Cinema- All Rights Reserved
All the power in the universe can't change destiny.
Chronicles of Riddick
Release Date: June 11, 2004
Logline: The mad-resourceful wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
Fun Fact: Basically a big kid, the undercover nerdish actor has played Dungeons & Dragons for over twenty years and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2004- Universal Studios- All Rights Reserved
Welcome to the infantry.
The Pacifier
Release Date: March 4, 2005
Logline: Buff Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father--a government scientist whose top-secret experiment remains in the kids' house.
Fun Fact: Vin became a father with his girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez, welcoming their first child, a girl, on April 2nd, 2008.
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com- © 2005- Walt Disney Pictures- All Rights Reserved
Sometimes the best defense. . . is a wiseguy.
Find Me Guilty
Release Date: March 17, 2006
Logline: Jack DiNorscio, a strong willed mobster, defends himself in court when being tried on a series racketeering counts. This results in it being the longest mafia trial in U.S. history.
Fun Fact: He gained 35 pounds so he could portray "Fat Jackie" in Find Me Guilty.
Photo(s) by Special to Hollywood.com- © 2006- Freestyle Releasing- All Rights Reserved
Re-fueled and ready to go.
Fast and the Furious 4
Release Date: June 5, 2009
Logline: The hot headed speed racer Dominic Toretto has been M.I.A. for the past few years, but is reunited with his by the books friend Brian O'Conner when he's released from prison. The two team up with the feds to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.
Fun Fact: Vin has a huge interest in the video game the World of Warcraft, as evidenced by the installation of a computer game system on one of his cars.
Photo(s) © 2008- Universal Pictures- All Rights Reserved