VIN DIESEL
Birth Name: Mark Vincent
Date of Birth: July 18, 1967
Vin Diesel was born and raised in New York where he honed his craft as an actor and writer. His father was a theater director, and Diesel was part of the cast of his father's repertory company, where he gained valuable experience playing a number of roles. He moved to Hollywood to break into films, but after a year without landing a job, he returned to New York. After his mother gave him a book that explained how to make your own movies, in 1995, Diesel wrote, directed, produced and acted in a short film called Multi-Facial (1999).
The film was shown at Cannes, but didn't really cause a stir, so he raised $50,000 and went on to make his first feature, Strays in 1997. Although it was accepted at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, the film didn't do as wel as he'd hoped. However, Steven Spielberg called him in 1997 on the basis of Diesel's work in his first fime, and the young actor was subsequently offered a role in Saving Private Ryan, a true story about sacrifice and heorism in World War II, starring Tom Hanks.
Diesel has since become a star, appearing in major hits such as The Fast and the Furious and XXX. He has a fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent, and two sisters.
Filmography
Hannibal the Conquerer (2011)
Rockfish (2010)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Babylon A.D. (2008)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) (uncredited)
Find Me Guilty (2006)
The Pacifier (2005)
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
A Man Apart (2003)
XxX (2002)
Knockaround Guys (2002)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Pitch Black (2000)
Boiler Room (2000)
The Iron Giant (1999) (voice)
Multi-Facial (1999)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Strays (1997)
Awakenings (1990) (uncredited)