Bloodshot tries, in every way, to weaponise action movie cliches. It’s fitting then, that the titular hero is played by Vin Diesel—a hulking slab of muscle and charisma who is, arguably, the platonic ideal of an action star. But, as is the case with Bloodshot—the big-screen debut of Valiant Comics’ unkillable, memory-wiped super soldier, which hit theatres last weekend—there’s a lot more nuance to Diesel.

We all know by now that Diesel can throw down with the best of them—it’s saying something that he can have a face off with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and make it seem like it could actually be a fair fight. But there’s also an earnest sense of emotion underneath Diesel’s meat-stuffed tank tops. He can drive a car off a cliff and make you feel the importance of family with just a subtle clinking of two ice-cold bottles of Coronas (not sponsored). Some of his best roles haven’t even taken advantage of his physicality, instead just using his voice, one so husky and overflowing with heart it can’t help but be a little garbled, to bring viewers to tears with just a few words.

The bottom line is: we all love Vin Diesel. But with movie theatres around the country shuttering to comply with social gathering shutdowns following the ongoing spread of coronavirus, there’s probably no way you’re going to see Bloodshot anytime soon—unless it drops early on streaming services, like The Hunt or The Invisible Man both are on Friday. While we wait for that to happen (Hollywood, please, come through), we’ve rounded up five of Vin Diesel’s best roles, ones that are available to stream from the comfort of your own home, right now.

Tie: Xander Cage, xXx // Riddick, Pitch Black & The Chronicles of Riddick

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It was either Riddick or Xander. Diesel hasn’t actually played that many different roles, as nine Fast and Furious movies will quickly take up a huge chunk of one’s IMDb page. Neither of these roles is as deep or profound as the other four on this list, which showcase more of Diesel’s inner depth as an actor. Still, Diesel flaunts his physique in both, and it’s fair to say that that physicality is no small part of why he’s become the box office draw he is. Of the two, xXx, in which Diesel essentially plays the X-Games version of James Bond, is a little dumber and more upbeat—perfect for, I don’t know, this very stressful moment. Riddick, a dark and complex sci-fi series full of strange alien creatures and betrayals, gives Diesel a little more to work with. They’re both pretty absurd, though, worth watching for a decent enough time and as a reminder of what Diesel can do when given a chance to put more of his inherently good-natured self into unexpected roles.

Private Adrian Caparzo, Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan, 1998.CBS / Getty Images
Vin Diesel got his big breakthrough in 1997 when Steven Spielberg saw him in Multi-Facial, a short film about being a multi-racial actor that Diesel wrote, directed, produced, and even scored (he’s a man of many talents). The director then cast Diesel in Saving Private Ryan as Private Adrian Caparzo, a member of the small team of WWII soldiers on a rescue mission. Diesel isn’t in the movie for long, but you get a sense of who Caparzo—and Diesel—is right away. He’s a big guy, capable of being intimidating, sure, but one who radiates kindness, too. Diesel’s not yet an action star, even as he’s battling Nazis. Instead, Spielberg introduced the world to a young guy who wanted to do good; Diesel’s casual demeanor makes us feel the melancholy that underscores his optimism.

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Caparzo meets his end when he disobeys orders in the hopes of rescuing a frightened French girl during a shootout, and he bleeds out in the rain just feet away from help. Saving Private Ryan opens with D-Day, one of the most horrifying, draw-dropping battles ever filmed, and it ends in a frantic skirmish that costs the lives of almost every other member of the rescue party, including Tom Hanks’s Captain Miller. But in the middle, without much screen time, a then-unknown Diesel makes us feel, as Miller does, that 10 Private Ryans wouldn’t be worth one Caparzo.

The Iron Giant, The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant, 1999.Everett Collection / Courtesy of Warner Bros

The Iron Giant is an early, exceptional example of Diesel’s two main, somewhat opposite strengths as an actor. The animated cult classic came out in 1999, a year before he’d star in his first true action hero role in Pitch Black. Riddick, xXx, and Dominic Toretto are all alphas. They’re tough guys who almost always know what to do. The Iron Giant, though—a robotic alien weapon who lands on earth with amnesia, which turns it into a pacifist—is naive. Groot, Diesel’s other major voiceover role, is similar: these are characters that, like their live-action brethren, could easily kick anyone’s ass, but they possess a beautiful simplicity that elevates them.

Diesel’s voice is his secret weapon as an actor. It’s gruff and perpetually mumbling, but at no point does it ever feel cold or distant. You can hear his sincerity, and you can tell that his heart and mind are open, even if his vocal pipes are a little choked up. He’s perfect as the Iron Giant, a big, powerful presence that doesn’t mean anyone ill-will. Given his signature clean-shaven head, Diesel may look more like a buff Lex Luthor than he does Clark Kent, but The Iron Giant’s emotional conclusion proves that he’d make for a great Superman.

Groot, Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014.Everett Collection / Courtesy of Walt Disney Co.

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Groot is the Iron Giant’s organic counterpart—powerful, warmly dim-witted, and so loyal and loving that he’s willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Groot also shares the Iron Giant’s limited vocabulary, but to an even greater extreme, as he’s famously only able to say “I am Groot.”

Diesel, who notably recorded Groot’s three-word lines for the Russian, French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese dubs of Guardians of the Galaxy rather than let native-speakers attempt to recreate his gravelly voice, relishes in the challenge of making the character a fully realized one. He puts so many little spins on “I am Groot” that you immediately know what Groot means, despite lacking Rocket’s fluency in his “language.” Heck, Diesel is great as a baby, too. Vol. 2 by necessity had to fiddle with the pitch a little, yet you still believe that the 6-foot-tall muscle-man is an innocent little sapling. Diesel’s finest vocal moment comes in the first Guardians, though, when he expands Groot’s vocabulary by just one, heartbreaking word: “We. Are. Groot.” Few actors have done more with less.

Dominic Toretto, Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious, 2001.Everett Collection / Courtesy of Universal
It had to be Dom. With a lesser actor at the wheel, the Fast and Furious franchise would be nothing more than some killer car stunts. That wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but Diesel adds the emotional nitrous, if you will. Especially as the franchise developed, Diesel brought a certain sort of admirable spin on alpha-maleness. He’s no-nonsense, but not humorless. He’s the leader, but always willing to listen. He’s not one to forget, but he’s willing to forgive.

The plots of the Fast and Furious movies aren’t always the most essential or easy-to-follow aspects of the film, but even as the MacGuffins or plots escape you, one look at Diesel’s steely-yet-warm eyes is all you need to remember what these movies are actually about: family. In the Fast and Furious movies, Diesel is the beating heart inside the gearhead, as he makes it clear that Dom is, despite his gruff exterior, a truly loving leader. Not many action stars could pull this off—maybe they lack the charisma or the physicality, or perhaps there’s an innate unwillingness to be that comfortable with opening up in a traditionally stoic sort of role. Diesel, though, floors it.

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