Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Trade Mark (4)

Shaves his head



Muscular physique



Deep, gravelly, powerful voice



Big, lanky boots



Trivia (33)

He worked as a bouncer in New York at the famous nightclubs Tunnel (which has since closed) and Mars.





Has a fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent , who is a film editor.

Has an Italian Mastiff named "Roman".





Has a younger sister, Samantha Vincent , and a younger brother, in addition to his fraternal twin Paul.

Ranked #46 in Premiere magazine's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #95 in 2002.





Is an admitted fan of "Dungeons and Dragons", and, according to an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), had then-played it for 24 years.



Was offered the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Daredevil (2003) that eventually went to Ben Affleck

Born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, CA (where his mother was also born). He later moved to New York City, where he was raised. His mother has English, German, Scottish and Irish ancestry, while his biological father's identity and background are not publicly known. He has described himself as "definitely a person of color". He was raised by his Caucasian mother and African-American stepfather.





Producing partner with George Zakk . Their company is called One Race Productions. Also owns a record label called Racetrack Records.



Wrote an original screenplay titled "Doormen" (based on his experiences as a bouncer) as a follow-up to Strays (1997), his directorial debut. However, his acting career exploded and his plans to direct the film fell by the wayside. The concept eventually developed into the Fox Digital Entertainment web series The Ropes (2011), which Diesel created and produced.

During his teens, he performed breakdancing in an instructional video on the subject.





Credits the book "Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt as the one resource above all upon which he built his career. This book, according to Diesel, gave him the tools, knowledge, and most importantly, the inspiration to develop his short film Multi-Facial (1995), which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in.



Revolution Studios wanted him for the title role in Hellboy (2004), but director Guillermo del Toro thought that Ron Perlman was the perfect choice for the role, and would not direct the movie if he was not cast.



Was listed as a potential nominee on both the 2003 and 2004 Razzie Award nominating ballots. He was listed as a suggestion for the Worst Actor category on the 2003 ballot for his performances in the films Knockaround Guys (2001) and xXx - Triple X (2002). And was listed as a suggestion again on the nominating ballot in the Worst Actor category the next year for his role in Extreme Rage (2003). He did not receive either nomination. The following year though, he finally received his first Razzie nomination for Worst Actor in the film Riddick: Chroniken eines Kriegers (2004). However, he did not "win".



Is the cousin of rapper/producer Kwamé "The Boy Genius". Kwame says if you watch his old videos, you'll see Vin in a few of them.

Once worked as a telemarketer, selling light bulbs.



In addition to being considered for the role of Hellboy in 2004, he was also considered for the part of Abe Sapien.





He gained 35 pounds so he could portray Fat Jackie in Find Me Guilty - Der Mafiaprozess (2006).



He and his girlfriend, Paloma Jiménez , welcomed their first child, daughter Hania Riley, on April 2, 2008.



Started the video game company Tigon Studios in 2002. It in turn worked on the movie-based game The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004). Tigon is working on more next-gen games as well as having a hand in all Diesel-based games.

Revealed that the daughter he welcomed in April 2008, is named Hania Riley. [September 2008]



Lives in Los Angeles, CA.





Vin revealed in several interviews that he has remained extremely close to friend and The Fast and the Furious (2001) co-star Michelle Rodriguez . His children even refer to her as their aunt.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. on August 26, 2013.





His third child, a daughter, is named Pauline after late best friend and co-star Paul Walker . Mother is Paloma Jiménez

His second child, a boy named Vincent Sinclair, was born in 2010. Mother is Paloma Jiménez.



Despite being only 5' 11¾" (1.82 m) his muscular physic makes him look bigger and taller.



Personal Quotes (19)

Well, I've worked out for years. For a long time it was my only sense of gratification.



I would get into fights with other bouncers when a guy was already on the floor and the other guys thought it was alright to jump up in the air and land on the guy's head.





[on the xXx - Triple X (2002) poster and what it means for his career] This isn't a poster. This is a declaration of war!

[on his mysterious ethnicity] I am definitely a person of color.



[on the planned "Chronicles of Riddick" trilogy] We gave the script to the studio, I bought three leather binders. One said C1, one said C2 and one said C3. They all had locks on them and we only gave the key to C1 to the studio"





In the next film, Riddick is going to go to the underverse. Riddick will act with new elementals. Not air elementals [as Judi Dench 's character is] but fire and water. It'll come full circle in C3 when he must return to Furya.



[on Riddick: Chroniken eines Kriegers (2004)] The concept behind switching genres was to create a film that you could continue exploring. In the ending of this movie, it's not just something that says we're opening it up so we can tell another story, it's very specific. A very daring ending because it's left open-ended.



From the very very beginning, when everyone thought it was crazy, I was thinking of Riddick: Chroniken eines Kriegers (2004) as a trilogy. That would start with the movie you saw, and Pitch Black - Planet der Finsternis (2000) would act as a prequel that introduced you to the character. So in simple terms, in Chronicles 2 we venture to the Underverse. We knew we could get away with a PG-13 on the first one, but once you go to the Underverse it's rated R, because it's a place where war is the norm and there is constant, constant battling. Then on Chronicles 3 we will see Riddick return to Furya, to deal with the homeland.

I was a bouncer for nine years - it was all I knew how to do - and my training was not to talk loosely... That's still my thought process: Shut your mouth, watch your back and keep working 'til your ass falls off.



With age, you get to a place where you don't want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug.



I am truly multi-racial. I never knew my biological father. I've always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.





[on Multi-Facial (1995)] That film is my tribute to my background. The man who raised me is black. Culturally, he made me who I am. He was a theatre director, so he also guided me artistically.

I act because it's the one time I'm sure of my identity. There's no doubt. It's on paper.



We're in a gaming society now, so people are conditioned to work a little bit for their story. People like to be rewarded for whatever equity they put into your universe.



[on the Fast & Furious and Riddick franchises]: My whole approach to making these movies and to creating these sagas is saying to the studio, 'The audience is paying attention to the nuances and all the story points that lead up to this film. The more you acknowledge that, the better movie you have.'





[on Multi-Facial (1995)] I guess I've always looked past the exterior and the ambiguity that my existence represents. When I was in my mother's stomach, it was still illegal in parts of America for people of color and white people to procreate. Everyone had known me just as a bouncer in New York because I wasn't able to get any work. There was something too ambiguous about the way I look that would prevent me from ever getting a star.

My mom used to say that I became a fighter and a scrapper and a tough guy to protect whom I am at my core. This exterior means that I am actually one of the few people who can show love without coming across as soft.



Salary (7)