For those who are fans of the Fast and Furious series or the movie Xander Cage, they will surely be very curious about the life behind the screen of the outstandingly talented actor Vin Diesel.

Up to this point, Vin Diesel is probably still one of the hottest names among Hollywood stars. His success is also becoming more and more outstanding than everyone else. However, few people understand that Vin Diesel’s personality and private life are very different from Dom Toretto’s strong and healthy appearance. On his birthday (July 18), let’s   learn about this interesting guy with ELLE Man .

Vin Diesel’s real name is Mark Sinclair

It’s not surprising that big stars often use stage names instead of their real names. Vin Diesel is no exception, his real name is Mark Sinclair. He named “Vin” after his stepfather, Vincent. The family name “Diesel” (motor oil) has followed him since his days working in a New York bar. The reason he is called that is probably simply because of his hard work and abundant energy that he always “recharges” for his work, making everyone around him admire him.

He has a twin brother

Few people know that Vin Diesel also has an older brother, Paul Vincent. Although they were born on the same day, month, and year, the two brothers are fraternal twins. Born and raised together in Greenwich Village, Vin and Paul had a close relationship. Paul helped Vin with his first short film, Multi-Facial .
If you look closely, you can see many similarities between the two brothers.
Unlike Vin, Paul has a more private life. He has appeared many times on his younger brother’s profile, most notably his meeting with his late friend, Paul Walker. Vin even joked that his twin brother looks more like his best friend than he does.

Career path before entering the world of cinema

Although his stepfather used to be a drama teacher, Vin did not participate in acting thanks to his family. Since he was young, he, his brother and a few friends had mischievously burgled the theater in his hometown. The theater director saw it, but instead of calling the police, she told the children to perform the play Dinosaur Door . And of course, Vin agreed. After that, Vin continued to work with Theater for The New City for many years until he began attending Hunter College.

Push to Hollywood

After finishing college, Vin tried the most traditional route to Hollywood success: going to Los Angeles and auditioning. It seems that luck is not yet smiling on him. He returned to New York after his failure and decided to make his own movie.

Vin in the movie Saving Private Ryan.
Multi-Facial was filmed in a few short days with a budget of only $3,000. Vin wrote the script himself, directed it himself, produced it himself, and also played the main role in this film. He was very surprised when the film received a lot of attention, even being shown at Cannes in 1995. Thanks to this great success, Vin had a solid stepping stone to continue working on new projects, Strays . Talented director Steven Spielberg was so impressed with Vin Diesel, he even wrote a new role specifically for Vin in the movie Saving Private Ryan – a big push to Hollywood.

Dungeons and Dragons fan

Dungeons and Dragons , a popular role-playing game from the 70s. Players create a character with a similar appearance and personality, then are led through challenges by the Dungeon master. This is a game that is often described as the most “nerdy” game, so it is unlikely that a top action actor would be interested in this game.

To this day, he still doesn’t feel shy about being a big fan of this game. He also taught Judi Dench to play while filming the movie The Chronicles of Riddick . The Last Witch Hunter movie is also based on his favorite character in D&D, Melkor. He was even invited to write the introduction to the book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons

Used to be a rapper and breakdancer

On his way to becoming a professional actor, Vin Diesel tried many different activities such as becoming a rap singer, or learning breakdancing in the 80s. However, based on his dance video, fortunately this is not the path he chose.

He has three children

As a family man, Vin Diesel always tries to keep his private life separate from showbiz. He and Mexican model Paloma Jimenez had their first child, daughter Hania Riley, in 2008. Two years later, Vincent Sinclair was born, carrying the names of his two families.

His family often appears with him on the red carpet.
Most notably, Vin’s second daughter, born in 2015, was named after her late co-star and friend Paul Walker. He is also godfather to Paul’s daughter, Meadow Rain Walker.

Actually, Vin Diesel doesn’t have any tattoos

Far different from the personalities of the characters he has played, Vin does not have any tattoos on his body. However, Vin really likes temporary tattoos. In the movie  Xander Cage in xXx , he asked to have the D&D character’s name tattooed around his stomach.

Breaking all Hollywood rules

As actors in major movies for the studio, they will often be paid handsomely after the movie ends. Usually this amount will be based on the film’s budget, the larger the budget, the higher the salary. However, most stars often negotiate higher amounts or even “pay for performance”. Any talented producer would advise, “Never invest your own money in a project.” However, Vin did not follow this. He negotiated to own Riddick ‘s rights with his own money.