German TV guide "TV Movie", issue 21/2001,
pp.233-4
Svenja Hadler
In the US, "The Fast and the Furious" brought in 141 million dollars with an action spectacle. Right in the middle of it – Vin Diesel. TV Movie editor Svenja Hadler met the rising star.
Watch out when they step on the gas! The wheels start burning; the streets of L.A. start smoking. Hard-as-nails Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) shoots through the night, together with his guys, and the car freaks do illegal battles on the asphalt with each other in their souped-up cars. Unless they're occupied with breaking into trucks – at least that's what the police think; therefore undercover cop Brian O'Connor infiltrates Toretto's gang. He's supposed to gather evidence, and gets a good hiding: Toretto hammers him down to the ground with his bare fists. Brian can't do anything but flee...
An hour on the sofa with the superstar
It's exactly that guy named Vin Diesel (34), who lashes out that brutally in his latest film "The Fast and the Furious", who is going to sit across from me in the Park Hyatt Hotel in Hamburg straightaway. I'm waiting for him curiously. Then the door flies open, I turn around – and I am surprised: instead of the grim looking giant I expected, a whirlwind (height: 1,88m) who is in a brilliant mood skips in, belting out Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal", his muscles hidden under a white T-shirt. "What an incredible hotel," the Hollywood star calls out and throws himself onto the sofa. "I'll engage the architect; I'd like him to embellish my house in L.A." Incredible! This is said to be the same guy who doesn't smile a single time and scares everyone to death in the Australian sci-fi shocker "Pitch Black"?
Action hero has the wind up
At least as surprising as Diesel's appearance is his choice of cars: in "The Fast and the Furious", he thunders across Los Angeles in souped-up racing cars, but in private life, the New York born actor prefers to chug along in a slow truck; that way, it's much easier to "overlook the street and keep to speed limits". Did he do all the stunts in the film himself, at least? "God no – just a few of them. I'm not suicidal. Although once I had to half climb out of the side window of my car at 70 miles per hour." The door to the room opens, and the hot chocolate he ordered is served; he launches into a short song of thanks. Does action man Vin Diesel now even intend to become a pop star? No, no, he doesn't. He doesn't have the time for such things anyway; first of all, he has to concentrate on his newest project, the thriller "Triple X", in which he plays an extreme sportsman. Is he afraid that people want to see him in action films only? Vin Diesel becomes thoughtful: "Yes, you have to be careful with that. Fortunately, I've come to Hollywood in a different way than most of my colleagues."
Suddenly, Spielberg was on the blower
You can say that again: [he was] on a theater stage for the first time at the age of seven, and after [finishing] school [he worked as] a bouncer at several clubs for nine years. He spent his salary on drama lessons. Since no one gave him any roles, he made his first two films himself – he wrote the scripts, directed, and played the lead roles as well. And since he did it that well, one day Steven Spielberg called and offered him a part in "Saving Private Ryan". "No one gave me anything for free. It was hard, sometimes even unbearable. But in the end, it was worth it. Although I'm now considered to be an action star, I see myself as a character actor."
Neck massage made in Hollywood
What does Vin Diesel actually think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the prototype of an action hero? "For a bodybuilder, Arni has achieved amazing things; with a single sentence like 'Hasta la vista, Baby', he became unforgettable. Even Anthony Hopkins doesn't manage this." He still can't grasp his rise himself: "I try not to brood too much over success; I prefer thinking about new projects. But sometimes, my career just floors me." He laughs, jumps up – and gives me a short neck massage, completely out of the blue. Incredible – this man is really good for any kind of surprise...
translation by Zoe
Translator's note: I guess the interview was done in English, which means that the passages in which the original article quotes Vin are translations. For this reason, I can't guarantee that the original wording of Vin's comments was exactly like you find them in my 'back-translation'! If I knew Vin personally, I could have asked him, but...sorry, I don't.