Vin Diesel Speaks Of Filming And Living On Without Paul Walker, His 'Other Half'

Mar 03, 2022 by apost team

Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California. He later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother. Diesel's mother is an astrologer and the star never met his biological father. He has been acting since childhood and first appeared in a play at the Theater for the New City when he was seven.

Today, Diesel is one of Hollywood's highest-grossing actors and is a leading force behind the mega-popular "Fast and Furious" franchise. He plays the character Dominic Toretto but is also heavily involved behind the scenes as a producer as well. 

Diesel has been working in Hollywood since 1990 but first gained attention in 1995 when he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film "Multi-Facial." This drew in director Steven Spielberg who created a supporting role for Diesel in his 1998 film "Saving Private Ryan." The following year, the actor voiced the main character in "The Iron Giant."

Solidifying himself as an action star with the films "XXX," "The Chronicles of Riddick," and the "Fast and Furious" movies, Diesel has also found success with other genres. He starred in the family comedy "The Pacifier" in 2005 and the comedy-drama "Find Me Guilty." Diesel also plays the character Groot in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise. 

In 2013, Diesel lost his close friend and co-star, Paul Walker, in a car accident. The loss made a significant impact on the star, and he opened up about the experience in 2017. Read on to learn what Diesel had to say about Walker and why he considers him his "other half."

Acting has always been Diesel's calling. Even since childhood, he knew he was meant to perform and be recognized by people all around the world. "When I was a kid, I used to say, I know as sure as I'm breathing, I am gonna be a movie star," Diesel said to Men's Health in 2021.

Without a doubt, the "Fast and Furious" franchise has been something special for Diesel. "When people are in the middle of the process, trying to manifest something, maybe they don't spend enough time thinking about how it will be remembered—how it will be regarded," he said. "But at the same time, you have to identify the significance of it, in order to get the most out of yourself—and the most out of the people that you're inviting on the journey." 

The star added: "So it's not uncommon that I'll give a speech on set where I'll say, 'We're making this franchise for people that are no longer with us,' which is very real, and the implications of that are very heavy. 'But at the same time, we're making the franchise for the people that aren't born yet.'" 

The franchise is incredibly important to Diesel and it shows in the care he puts into each film. "When you have a unique perspective of creating a franchise that spans generations, you realize, okay, we all have to be as brilliant as possible. We have to reach as high as we can. Because it may be more important than just a movie. More important than two hours of escapism. There may be something more at play," he explained.

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The eighth installment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise was the first to be released since Walker's passing. The experience of making the movie without his close friend was hard for Diesel. "There wasn't a day, there wasn't a scene, there wasn't a second where I didn't have Paul with me in the making of this movie," he shared with People in 2017. "It's not making the movie without Paul, it's, 'What's life like? What's living like without Paul?'"

The star also opened up about visiting Walker's mom after he passed away. Diesel said, "The day after the tragedy, for me to fly from Atlanta that night and to show up at his mother's house and for me to say to his mother, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and for his mother to say to me 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry' — I said, 'Why? Why are you saying sorry to me?' And she said, 'Because you lost your other half.'"

Thinking of Walker as his other half was novel to Diesel, but he agreed wholeheartedly. "She was telling me something I wasn't even aware of. I wasn't aware of how profound the loss was," he added. "You don't think about it while you're living, and we're probably all a little guilty of not telling people how much we love them while they're here."

Walker lives on in the lives of his children and everyone who loved him. Diesel paid homage to his lost friend when he named his second daughter Pauline. Losing someone so close to him was a wake-up call for the actor, and his family as well. Diesel shared, "His mom told my mom, 'Love your child, just love your child.'"

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