There sure is a lot of mystery surrounding Vin Diesel.
Vin Diesel who is one of the biggest action stars has a highly fascinating career.
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You take one look at the actor and you’re left with all sorts of questions. Things like, has he done movies besides the Fast & Furious franchise? What does he look like with hair??
Don’t let these questions eat you up inside. Instead, get all the answers you need from this list of 10+ cool things about Vin Diesel.
1. His real name isn’t Vin Diesel:
Get this: it’s actually Mark Sinclair .
He made the change when he started working as a bouncer at the nightclub called The Tunnel. Around that time, he also shaved his head and created his tough-guy persona.
2. He’s a family man:
He and his partner, Paloma Jimenez, have welcomed three children into the world: Pauline, Hania, and Vincent.
But don’t expect to hear much about them as he keeps his family life very private.
3. He has a twin:
His fraternal twin brother is named Paul Vincent.
When Vin shared this picture of his brother, people pointed out that he looked more like the twin of the late Paul Walker. The brothers also have a sister named Samantha Vincent.
4. He wrote, directed, and produced his first film,*Multi-Facial*:
And he did it all on a $3,000 budget !
The short was about a struggling actor having trouble getting roles due to his race. The film ended up being so successful that it was even accepted into the Cannes Film Festival.
5. His breakout role, however, was the 1998 film, *Saving Private Ryan*:
Spielberg cast him after he saw Multi-Facial and Vin’s 1997 drama Strays , both of which he wrote, produced, starred in, and directed.
Spielberg even wrote the role specifically for Diesel.
6. Spielberg once told him it would be a “crime against cinema” if he did not continue directing:
Vin told The Independent that Steven told him, “When I wrote the role for you in Saving Private Ryan, I was obviously employing the actor, but I was also secretly championing the director in you, and you have not directed enough.’”
7. He wrote the foreword to a book about Dungeons & Dragons:
Yes, he is a closet nerd.
He wrote the foreword to Thirty Years of Adventure , which is a book about the history of the game. He’s also contributed to many online discussions about the game.
8. He got into acting after breaking into a theater:
This happened when he was just seven . Yup, you read that right. Seven years old.
He and his friends broke into a theater to vandalize it, but the woman who worked there stopped them.
She offered them $20 and a script, on the condition that they would attend the theater every day.
Vin stayed with the theater throughout high school, which makes sense considering that his stepfather was a theater coach.
9. He’s the voice of Groot from the Marvel Universe:
“It’s just the Groot coming out of me. It’s the Groot coming out of my jacket,” Diesel explained on the red carpet live stream of the Hollywood premiere of Avengers: Infinity War .
He was wearing a white jacket that had Groot’s branches coming out of it.
“I’m talking normal, and next thing you know, branches are growing out my chest. It’s crazy.”
He also plays Baby Groot! Such a big man to play such a tiny character!
10. He voiced the Iron Giant:
According to the film’s producer, Allison Abbate, they chose Vin to voice the Iron Giant for a specific reason.
They wanted a ferocious voice that was also tender (think of him in The Pacifier ).
“We were going to be electronically modulating the giant’s voice for that mechanical sound, but we needed a deep, resonant and expressive voice to start with.”
The 1999 animated film also stars Jennifer Aniston , Eli Marienthal, and Harry Connick Jr.
11. He has his own video game company:
Called The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay , it’s based on the Riddick movie.
The game was critically acclaimed, but so far, there hasn’t been a second one. Maybe there will one day.
He used to breakdance:
We don’t know what’s more strange: Vin breakdancing or Vin with hair!
The unearthed video , which was filmed during the 1980s, wasn’t the only time Vin showed off his moves.
He also had gigs at Columbus Circle and Washington Square Park.
12. He’s multi-racial:
“I am truly multi-racial,” he said, according to IMDb .
His mother is of English, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. But since he never knew his father, his true ethnicity is still a mystery.
Diesel knows very little about him: “I never knew my biological father,” he said.
“I’ve always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.”
13. He traded his cameo in *Tokyo Drift* for the rights to *Riddick*:
“It’s the story of my life,” he said in an emotional speech at Riddick’s L.A. premiere.
This goes to show how much he resonated with the character. It is clearly one of his favorite roles.
Getting the movie made, though, was a lot of financial strain.
“I had to leverage my house,” Diesel told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview at the film’s Los Angeles premiere.
“If we didn’t finish the film, I would be homeless.” Thankfully, it was finished!
14. He was obsessed with movies as a kid.
It makes sense that the actor and director was glued to the screen as a kid.
While Vin never watched TV shows, he said he watched the 1954 film On the Waterfront at least 100 times.
15. He fell in love with motorcycles in New York City.
His time at Hunter College led to his love of thrill seeking.
“It wasn’t until I went to college and I got my first motorcycle that I understood the thrill of speed.”
16. He is a total sweetheart in real life.
Vin has explained that in his older age, he finds he greets conflict with more empathy than he used to.
“With age, you get to a place where you don’t want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug.”
17. He doesn’t just say “yes” to every movie.
While Vin is known for being a hard worker, he doesn’t just accept every movie offer he is given!
He once turned down a movie that offered him $20 million!
18. He basically ran a daddy daycare when his children were younger.
Vin was known for bringing his children to set when they were younger in an effort to spend as much time with them as he could.
In between takes, he would rock his babies back and forth. ISN’T THAT THE SWEETEST?!
19. His film family has become his real life family.
The actor is teaching his kids to call Michelle Rodriguez from the Fast & Furious movies “Aunt Michelle,” which is the cutest thing ever .
20. In July of 2016, Vin became the first actor to hit 100 million fans on Facebook.
He was the third person ever to achieve this milestone, behind singer Shakira and soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo!
It’s clear that Vin Diesel is full of fun facts and awesome hiddden talents! It’s no wonder he’s one of the most admired actors in Hollywood!
Did you learn any new facts about the actor?! If so, what were they?!
Let us know in the comments below!
