Name : Vin Diesel
Full name : Mark Sinclair Vincent
Date of Birth : Tuesday July 18 1967
Born : New York City, New York
Occupation : Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active : 1990–present
Partner : Paloma Jimenez
Best Known As : Star of the hot-rod thriller The Fast and the Furious
BIOGRAPHY
An overnight action film sensation who intrigued audiences when he seemingly emerged from nowhere in the summer of 2001, Vin Diesel actually made his first mark on the movie business as a filmmaker. His first two independent films screened at the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals after which the hulking, clean-shaven actor was snapped up by Hollywood and transformed into a movie star with high-octane hits “The Fast and the Furious” (2001) and “XXX” (2002). Diesel went on to receive decent reviews for his dramatic performance in “Find me Guilty” (2005), and found box office success with the Disney comedy “The Pacifier” (2005), but audiences were generally reluctant to accept him in anything but sequels to his breakout action films. The super-hype that surrounded the actor’s instant stardom quickly gave way to borderline has-been status, with the Diesel’s steadiest success coming in the form of seemingly endless revivals of his two best-known characters.
Born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City, NY on July 18, 1967, Diesel began acting with the Theatre for the New City at the age of seven. After studying English at Hunter College, he began penning screenplays and making films. His short "Multi-Facial" debuted at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and his first full-length feature, "Strays" (1997) premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Written, co-produced, directed and starring Diesel, "Strays" was an ensemble drama about male friendships that many compared – sometimes unfavorably – with "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) and "Diner" (1982).
While his efforts did not immediately lead to opportunities to make more films, Diesel’s powerful onscreen presence earned buzz and the deep-voiced, muscular actor landed a high profile supporting role as tough New Yorker Private Carparzo in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed WWII drama, "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). After voicing the title character in the delightful if underperforming animated adventure "The Iron Giant" (1999), Diesel got his first taste of leading man success in director David Twohy's cult sci-fi film "Pitch Black" (2000), in which the actor played a convict who, after his starship crash lands on a hostile planet, proves to be the salvation for the survivors.
Diesel gave another strong performance in the ensemble of the Wall Street-centered thriller "Boiler Room" (2000), but his true breakout came with his starring role as hard-driving car thief and street gang racer Dominic Toretto in the surprise summer blockbuster, "The Fast and the Furious" (2001), in which The New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell characterized Diesel as a "slacker Robert Mitchum, if that's not redundant." Diesel became an overnight sensation that summer, with the relative unknown fueling curiosity about himself by evading questions about his sexuality and his ethnic background, revealing only that he was part Italian and considered himself “a person of color.”
Fans lapped up the mystery of the bald newcomer and turned out in droves when Diesel re-teamed with "The Fast and the Furious" helmer Rob Cohen to lead the cast (and serve as executive producer) of the actioner "XXX" (2002). Another box-office bonanza, the film was routinely panned by the critics but nevertheless solidified the actor's status as an heir apparent to A-list action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Taking a cue from these same actors, he also branched out of his tough guy mode into the comedy realm to show his versatility. To wit, Diesel co-starred alongside Barry Pepper, Seth Green, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper in "Knockaround Guys" (2002) playing a young mobster-in-training desperate to retrieve a bag full of stolen cash.
Instead of opting for a big payday on the sequel "Too Fast, Too Furious," which he declined to appear in, Diesel instead produced and starred in the crime drama "A Man Apart" (2003), a film that offered the actor prime opportunity to emote instead of aim and shoot. Critics took minor swings at Diesel's sensitive side, but few could deny his strong screen presence and charisma, even in a middle-of-the-road film. The actor returned to the explosive, big budget world of sci-fi action when he reprised the role of "Pitch Black” hero Richard Riddick for Twohy's inflated sequel "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004), which he also executive produced. The box office results were less than stellar.
With his star on the wane after only four years of stardom, Diesel took a stab at family entertainment with Disney's "The Pacifier" (2005), playing a disgraced Navy SEAL charged with protecting the bratty brood of a deceased government scientist whose enemies are searching for his top secret experiment. Diesel’s star power was enough to draw in over $100 million in ticket sales, though his critically acclaimed follow-up in the character-based drama “Find Me Guilty” (2005) about real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio, proved a box office failure.
Appearing in only a brief cameo in the 2005 sequel “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” Diesel tried to explore new territory with the sci-fi thriller “Babylon A.D.” (2008), adapted from the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. Diesel received a critical drubbing for the second-rate offering and retreated to a surefire hit territory by finally reprising his role in the fourth sequel “Fast & Furious” (2009), which reunited the cast of the original film. Unsurprisingly, the film broke box office records and reinvigorated Diesel’s reputation as an action star.
Born Mark Sinclair Vincent in New York City, NY on July 18, 1967, Diesel began acting with the Theatre for the New City at the age of seven. After studying English at Hunter College, he began penning screenplays and making films. His short "Multi-Facial" debuted at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and his first full-length feature, "Strays" (1997) premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Written, co-produced, directed and starring Diesel, "Strays" was an ensemble drama about male friendships that many compared – sometimes unfavorably – with "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) and "Diner" (1982).
While his efforts did not immediately lead to opportunities to make more films, Diesel’s powerful onscreen presence earned buzz and the deep-voiced, muscular actor landed a high profile supporting role as tough New Yorker Private Carparzo in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed WWII drama, "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). After voicing the title character in the delightful if underperforming animated adventure "The Iron Giant" (1999), Diesel got his first taste of leading man success in director David Twohy's cult sci-fi film "Pitch Black" (2000), in which the actor played a convict who, after his starship crash lands on a hostile planet, proves to be the salvation for the survivors.
Diesel gave another strong performance in the ensemble of the Wall Street-centered thriller "Boiler Room" (2000), but his true breakout came with his starring role as hard-driving car thief and street gang racer Dominic Toretto in the surprise summer blockbuster, "The Fast and the Furious" (2001), in which The New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell characterized Diesel as a "slacker Robert Mitchum, if that's not redundant." Diesel became an overnight sensation that summer, with the relative unknown fueling curiosity about himself by evading questions about his sexuality and his ethnic background, revealing only that he was part Italian and considered himself “a person of color.”
Fans lapped up the mystery of the bald newcomer and turned out in droves when Diesel re-teamed with "The Fast and the Furious" helmer Rob Cohen to lead the cast (and serve as executive producer) of the actioner "XXX" (2002). Another box-office bonanza, the film was routinely panned by the critics but nevertheless solidified the actor's status as an heir apparent to A-list action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Taking a cue from these same actors, he also branched out of his tough guy mode into the comedy realm to show his versatility. To wit, Diesel co-starred alongside Barry Pepper, Seth Green, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper in "Knockaround Guys" (2002) playing a young mobster-in-training desperate to retrieve a bag full of stolen cash.
Instead of opting for a big payday on the sequel "Too Fast, Too Furious," which he declined to appear in, Diesel instead produced and starred in the crime drama "A Man Apart" (2003), a film that offered the actor prime opportunity to emote instead of aim and shoot. Critics took minor swings at Diesel's sensitive side, but few could deny his strong screen presence and charisma, even in a middle-of-the-road film. The actor returned to the explosive, big budget world of sci-fi action when he reprised the role of "Pitch Black” hero Richard Riddick for Twohy's inflated sequel "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004), which he also executive produced. The box office results were less than stellar.
With his star on the wane after only four years of stardom, Diesel took a stab at family entertainment with Disney's "The Pacifier" (2005), playing a disgraced Navy SEAL charged with protecting the bratty brood of a deceased government scientist whose enemies are searching for his top secret experiment. Diesel’s star power was enough to draw in over $100 million in ticket sales, though his critically acclaimed follow-up in the character-based drama “Find Me Guilty” (2005) about real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio, proved a box office failure.
Appearing in only a brief cameo in the 2005 sequel “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” Diesel tried to explore new territory with the sci-fi thriller “Babylon A.D.” (2008), adapted from the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. Diesel received a critical drubbing for the second-rate offering and retreated to a surefire hit territory by finally reprising his role in the fourth sequel “Fast & Furious” (2009), which reunited the cast of the original film. Unsurprisingly, the film broke box office records and reinvigorated Diesel’s reputation as an action star.
CAREER
Diesel's first film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1990 film Awakenings. He then produced, directed, and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough. He made his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he was self-cast as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.
He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. He earned critical acclaim for voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant (1999). He followed it up with a major role in Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in Pitch Black (2000). He attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits The Fast and the Furious (2001) starring opposite Paul Walker, and xXx (2002).
In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which did moderately well at the box office. In 2005 he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, a surprise box office success. In 2006 he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office. Later that year he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down. He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but turned it down as well. In March 2006, Diesel stated that he was working on a sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick.
In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008 he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D..
He again played Dominic Toretto in the fourth film of The Fast and The Furious series, titled Fast & Furious and released in April, 2009.
He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. He earned critical acclaim for voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant (1999). He followed it up with a major role in Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in Pitch Black (2000). He attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits The Fast and the Furious (2001) starring opposite Paul Walker, and xXx (2002).
In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which did moderately well at the box office. In 2005 he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, a surprise box office success. In 2006 he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office. Later that year he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down. He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but turned it down as well. In March 2006, Diesel stated that he was working on a sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick.
In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008 he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D..
He again played Dominic Toretto in the fourth film of The Fast and The Furious series, titled Fast & Furious and released in April, 2009.
MOVIES LIST
Awakenings (1990)
Multi-Facial (1994)
Strays (1997)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Boiler Room (2000)
Pitch Black (2000)
Pitch Black (2000)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Knockaround Guys (2001)
xXx (2002)
A Man Apart (2003)
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004)
The Pacifier (2005)
Find Me Guilty (2006)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Babylon A.D. (2008)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Fast Five (2010)
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2011)
Fast Five (2010)
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2011)
Career As a Producer
Multi-Facial (1994)
Strays (1997)
xXx (2002)
A Man Apart (2003)
Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Strays (1997)
xXx (2002)
A Man Apart (2003)
Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Life is a Dream (2004)
Find Me Guilty (2006)
Hitman (2007)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Fast Five (2011)
Hitman (2007)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Fast Five (2011)
Career As a Director & Writer
Multi-Facial (1994)
Strays (1997)
Strays (1997)
No comments:
Post a Comment