From: Favorite Hunks & Other Things
Vin Diesel turns 47 today.
Vin Diesel (born July 18, 1967) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the late 1990s, and first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan in 1998. He is most known for his portrayals of Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick trilogy (2001–2013) and of Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious film series (2001–present), two franchises in which he also acted as producer.
He starred in xXx (2002) and Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty (2006). His voice acting work includes Brad Bird's The Iron Giant (1999), the video games of The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation of the Marvel comics of the same name.
As a filmmaker, Diesel directed, wrote, produced and starred in the drama film Strays, as well as in two short films. He is the founder of the production companies One Race Films, Racetrack Records, and Tigon Studios.
Diesel was born as Mark Sinclair or Mark Vincent in New York City. His mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair) Vincent, is an astrologer. Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity". His mother's background includes Scottish, English, and German. He has never met his biological father, and has stated that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures". Diesel has self-identified as "definitely a person of color". He has stated that his parents' relationship was illegal in some parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws. Diesel was raised by his Caucasian mother and African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager. He made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother, and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who, instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.
Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his mixed heritage. He changed his name to Vin Diesel while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, because one's real name is not usually given out in that business. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends, who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.
Diesel is noted for his recognizably deep voice; he has said that his voice broke at around age 15, giving him a mature sounding voice on the telephone. He has a twin brother, Paul, a younger brother, Tim, and a sister, Samantha. Around 2001, Diesel dated his Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.
Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley (born 2008), and a son Vincent (2010) with his girlfriend, Mexican model Paloma Jimenez. Speaking to An tEolas, an Irish newspaper, Diesel stated he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a father. Diesel claims that he prefers dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life: "I'm not gonna put it out there on a magazine cover like some other actors. I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence."
Diesel has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic, and how he relates to its multicultural facets. He is acquainted with its president, Leonel Fernández, and appeared in one of Fernández's earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was filmed in the Dominican Republic.
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| Although we can all pretend the above pic is Vin Diesel (And it does look very much like him, most say it is actor Eros Rammazotti, but who cares, still a great pic!) |
Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years, and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th anniversary issue of Dragon magazine, it was revealed that Diesel had a fake tattoo of his character's name, Melkor, on his stomach while filming xXx.
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