Real Name: Mark Vincent
Stage Name: Vin Diesel
Birthdate: July 18, 1967
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Height: 6'1"
Hair Color: brown
Eye Color: brown
Mini biography
Vin's father taught theatre. His mother was an astrologist. Other than revealing that Vincent is his real last name, he won't talk about much of the rest of his early life. Vin dropped out of college to make Multi-Facial (1994), a short about a struggling actor that played in Cannes in 1995, which eventually got Steven Spielberg's attention. Spielberg then cast him in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Vin's career was launched.
More Biography
Vin Diesel was raised by his astrologer/psychiatrist mother and adoptive father in an artist's housing project in New York's Greenwich Village, never knowing his biological father. His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At 17 and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to 'Vin Diesel'.
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. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at Used Car Prices" by 'Rick Schmidt'. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial (1994), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1994) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.
Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it didn't sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial (1994) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1994) earned Vin more work, when the director of Iron Giant, The (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career has steadily grown, with him securing his first lead role as 'Richard B Riddick' in the sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000). That role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.
Trivia
He worked as a bouncer in New York.
Has a non-identical twin brother, Paul Vincent (IV), who is a film editor.
Has an Italina Mastiff named "Roman".
Mother is an astrologer.
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Has 2 sisters
Ranked #46 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #95 in 2002.
He's an admitted fan of Dungeons and Dragons, and according to an interview on Conan O'Brian he played for 24 years.
Was offered the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil that eventually went to Ben Affleck.
Is an Italian-American
Producing partner with George Zakk. Their company is called One Race Productions.
Personal quotes
"Well, I've worked out for years. For a long time it was my only sense of gratification."
"I would get into fights with other bouncers when a guy was already on the floor and the other guys thought it was alright to jump up in the air and land on the guy's head."
"I was being offered three franchises at the same time - Pitch Black, XXX, and The Fast and the Furious - and I had to choose. I couldn't do all three." - on why he didn't do the Fast and the Furious sequel
"This isn't a poster. This is a declaration of war!" -Re: the XXX poster and what it means for his career
"I am definitely a person of color." - regarding his mysterious ethnicity
Info taken from Internet Movie Database
