Vin Diesel has his charges dropped from murder, in last
year’s sci-fi thriller Pitch Black, to reckless endangerment in The
Fast & the Furious. The high-octane new film features a group of Los
Angeles street gangs, who modify sports cars into high-octane weapons that they
race illegally.
Diesel has not always been on the wrong side of the law.
In fact, his feature film debut was as an American hero in the Steven Spielberg
smash, Saving Private Ryan. Following that success, he went on to offer
his voice for the lead in Warner Brothers’ animated feature The Iron
Giant. After that innocent role, Diesel became Hollywood’s latest bad boy as
corrupt stockbroker in Boiler Room.
As every bad boy should,
Diesel uses an assumed name. Vincent is actually his last name, but he refuses
to disclose his real first name and Diesel is the name the actor used in his
previous career as a New York bouncer.
Diesel, and his twin brother
Paul, was born in New York City. He never met his biological father, and was
raised by his mother—an astrologer—and his stepfather, who worked in the
theater.
The theater was where a young Diesel began his acting career.
According to Diesel, his interest in show business began when, at
three-years-old, he wandered into a circus ring, but it was at the age of seven
that he got his first break when he and some friends were caught trespassing at
a local stage. Rather than being arrested, Diesel was offered $20 a week to take
the stage. He continued performing at the same small theater until he began
studying English at New York’s Hunter College. The college career was
short-lived, as he soon dropped out to pursue his acting career. Heading west,
he failed to break into showbiz on his first trip to Hollywood, instead becoming
a successful telemarketer.
Once he tired of selling tools, Diesel began
his career in film. He started with Multi-Facial, a film he wrote,
directed, and starred in that screened at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. He
followed by entering Strays—another film he wrote, directed, and starred
in—at the official competition at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. One year
later, Diesel starred in Saving Private Ryan and audiences—particularly
the women—have been ahhing ever since.
After The Fast & the
Furious, Diesel will star in Triple X, playing an extreme-sport
athlete turned hi-tech spy. After that he may return to his bad boy ways--this
time as a cyborg. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but rumor has it that Diesel
just may portray a villainous robot in Terminator 3.
--Tim
Mull
© 2001 PREVUE Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not
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