Vin Diesel’s first step to becoming an actor happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends decided to break into a Greenwich Village theatre to vandalize it. To their surprise, a woman appeared on stage, offering 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 adoptive father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. By the time he was 17, he needed a way to supplement his income and with his already well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some New York’s hippest clubs, a job he would do for the next nine years. 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 after three years he decided it was time to further his acting career, so he dropped out and headed for Hollywood thinking an experienced and art-driven theatre actor would be valued. He was wrong and after a year of struggling to break through he returned to New York. His astrologer/psychiatrist mother then introduced him to a book called Feature Films at Used Car Prices by Rick Schmidt. The advice within led him to the realization that he could take control of his career by making his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi Facial, which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Not only did he write and star in the film, but he also directed and produced it. Multi Facial was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.

Vin returned to Los Angeles where he and a friend worked together to raise almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays. Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, the film didn't sell as well as hoped. Yet again a disappointed Vin found himself back in New York only to receive a dream call from his newly acquired agent. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi Facial and had invited Vin to meet him on the set of Amistad. The pair immediately clicked and Vin found himself appearing in Spielberg's next blockbuster, Saving Private Ryan, in a role especially written for him.

Multi Facial went on to earn Vin more work. Director Brad Bird was looking to cast the title role in the animated film The Iron Giant. By coincidence, a woman who had been Vin's assistant at Sundance was now working for Bird. Knowing that Vin's voice would be perfect for the part, she gave Bird a copy of Multi Facial, which led to Vin securing the part.

Next he won the lead role of Richard B Riddick in the character-driven sci-fi film, Pitch Black. Despite the small budget and low-key marketing, his performance has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the recognition he deserves. He has since starred in Boiler Room and the eagerly awaited movies Knockaround Guys, The Fast and The Furious and Diablo.

He seems to be a ready-made tough guy for the action genre, but Vin has already proved himself more than that. A modest, wise man who values his family; an intelligent, tenacious character who took control of his career; a sensitive, perceptive actor, who brings depth to his characters: he has shown himself to be a multi-faceted person. Vin Diesel is at the beginning of a meteoric rise.

Lilith

[25 April 2001]