Vin Diesel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vin Diesel
Diesel in 2013
Born	Mark Sinclair (1967-07-18) July 18, 1967 (age 58) Alameda County, California, U.S.
Education	Hunter College
Occupation	Actor producer writer director
Years active	1990–present
Partner(s)	Paloma Jimenez (2007–present)
Children	3
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Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. He is one of the world's highest-earning actors. He is most famous for playing Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the Fast & Furious movies.

Vin Diesel was born in California. He went to Hunter College in New York City. There, he studied creative writing, which led him to start writing movie scripts. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a short film called Multi-Facial (1995). His first full-length movie was Strays (1997). He became well-known in the late 1990s. His first big role was in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan in 1998. He then appeared in successful films like Boiler Room (2000) and The Pacifier (2005). He became a major action star, leading popular movie series such as Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick.

He has also done voice acting for movies and video games. He voiced The Iron Giant (1999) and characters in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004) and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (2009). He is also the voice of Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He played Groot in six superhero films, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Diesel has continued to voice Groot in the Disney+ animated shorts I Am Groot (2022–2023), The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), and the animated movie Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018).

He started his own production company called One Race Films. Through this company, he has produced or executive produced many of his own movies. Diesel also created a record label, Racetrack Records, and a video game company, Tigon Studios. He provides his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's games.

Early Life and Beginnings

Growing Up in New York

Mark Sinclair was born on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California. His mother was also born there. He later moved to New York City with his twin brother, Paul. His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent, is an astrologer. He was raised by his mother and his adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent. His father was an acting teacher and theater manager. Diesel has mentioned that he has a mixed background. He has never met his biological father.

First Steps in Acting

Diesel made his first stage appearance at age seven. He was in a children's play called Dinosaur Door. This play was shown at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. He and his friends had accidentally broken into the theater. The theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, offered them roles in the play instead of calling the police. Diesel stayed involved with the theater throughout his teenage years. He later attended Hunter College in New York City. His studies in creative writing there led him to start writing movie scripts.

How Vin Diesel Got His Name

Sinclair started using his stage name "Vin Diesel" when he worked as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel. He wanted a tougher-sounding name for his job. "Vin" comes from his mother's married last name, Vincent. His friends gave him the last name "Diesel" because he was always full of energy.

Career Highlights

Starting Out in the 1990s

Diesel in 2005

Vin Diesel's first movie role was a small, uncredited part in Awakenings in 1990. After struggling for several years to get acting jobs, Diesel decided to make his own short film. In 1994, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in Multi-Facial. This short drama was partly about his own life as a mixed-race actor trying to get roles. The film was shown at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Besides acting, Vin Diesel also worked as a bouncer and sold lightbulbs over the phone to support himself.

In 1997, Diesel raised money to make his first full-length movie, Strays. It was a drama where he played a gang leader who tries to change his life for love. Diesel wrote, directed, and produced this film. It was chosen for the 1997 Sundance Festival. Director Steven Spielberg saw Diesel in Multi-Facial. He then cast Diesel in a small role as a soldier in his 1998 Oscar-winning war film Saving Private Ryan. This was Diesel's first big role in a Hollywood movie. In 1999, he provided the voice for the main character in the animated film The Iron Giant.

Becoming an Action Star (2000s)

In 2000, Diesel had a supporting role in the drama Boiler Room. Later that year, he got his first main role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black.

Diesel became a major action hero with his role as Dominic Toretto in the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001). He also starred as Xander Cage in the action thriller XXX (2002). He chose not to appear in the sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005). Instead, he returned as Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004). He also voiced the character in two video games and an anime film.

In 2005, Diesel tried a different kind of role. He played a funny character in the action comedy film The Pacifier, which was very successful.

Diesel with the Fast Five cast and Natalie Morales for Today in 2011

In 2006, he took on a serious role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. He received praise for his acting. Later that year, Diesel made a quick appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, playing Dominic Toretto again.

Diesel's main car, a Dodge Charger, from Fast & Furious

In 2008, he starred in the science-fiction action film Babylon A.D..

Continuing with Big Franchises (2009-Present)

Diesel returned to the Fast & Furious series in Fast & Furious, which came out in April 2009. Most of the original cast from the 2001 film also returned.

He continued to play Dominic Toretto in later Fast & Furious movies. These include Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023). He also returned as Riddick in the third film of The Chronicles of Riddick series, simply called Riddick (2013). In August 2013, Diesel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He voiced Groot in the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy.

In 2015, he starred in the supernatural action film The Last Witch Hunter. In 2016, Diesel appeared in Ang Lee's war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

In 2017, Diesel also played Xander Cage again in XXX: Return of Xander Cage. He also voiced Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Diesel has voiced Groot in other crossover films like Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). These movies brought together the superhero teams of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers.

Diesel played the Valiant Comics character Bloodshot in the movie of the same name which was released in March 2020.

In September 2020, Diesel started a music career. He released the song "Feel Like I Do," which was produced by Kygo. He performed the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show. He mentioned that music was a new creative way to express himself during a time when he couldn't be on a movie set.

Diesel is set to star in Riddick: Furya, the fourth movie in the The Chronicles of Riddick series. This film was announced in February 2023 and is currently being filmed.

Personal Life

Privacy and Voice

Diesel prefers to keep his personal life private. He has said he follows the "code of silence" of actors like Harrison Ford and Marlon Brando.

Diesel is known for his unique deep voice. He said his voice changed around age 15. This gave him a mature-sounding voice on the telephone, which he often uses in his acting roles.

Hobbies and Interests

Diesel is a big fan of Dungeons & Dragons. He wrote the introduction for the book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons (2004). A video game designer named merritt k even created a game for him in 2015. It was called Vin Diesel DMing a Game of D&D Just for You. He has also shared his love for the Dominican Republic. He is friends with its former president, Leonel Fernández. He appeared in one of Fernández's campaign ads. He later helped arrange for filming in the country for Los Bandoleros and Fast & Furious (both 2009).

Family and Friends

Around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast & Furious co-star Michelle Rodriguez. Since 2007, he has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez. They have three children: two daughters born in April 2008 and March 2015, and a son born in 2010. Their younger daughter is named in honor of his co-star and close friend Paul Walker. Paul Walker passed away in November 2013. Vin Diesel is also the godfather of Walker's daughter, Meadow. Diesel also has a close friendship with his Fast & Furious co-star Tyrese Gibson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Key

Denotes television series that have not yet been released

Video games

Other Appearances

Music

Singles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Vin Diesel para niños