Along with the cast, it seems like the cars in Fast and Furious also undergo a strict audition process, with Vin Diesel among the decision-makers.
Vin Diesel is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise. Diesel began auditioning for roles in the early 1990s but struggled to land roles. In 1995, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial. Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel after seeing him in Multi-Facial and cast him in a small role for his 1998 war epic Saving Private Ryan. Vin Diesel is now one of the world’s highest-grossing actors.
Diesel was cast as the lead in The Fast and the Furious (2001) but did not appear in the sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and had only a cameo in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). However, he returned to the franchise, both a star and a producer, for Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Furious 7 (2015). The film was dedicated to Paul Walker, who sadly passed away during filming. Diesel walked Walker’s daughter, Meadow, down the aisle when she married actor Louis Thornton-Allan last year.
Furious 7 grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2015 and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time at the time of release. The franchise continued to do well with The Fate of the Furious (2017) and F9: The Fast Saga (2021).
At the heart of the Fast and Furious franchise is, of course, its cars. With Vin Diesel being the star and the producer, he has a lot of say on what vehicles are featured. The Hollywood superstar admits that he is very selective on the ones that make it to the big screen…
Vin Diesel Once Pulled A Real-Life ‘Fast And Furious,’ Saving A Family From A Burning Vehicle
In 2013, during production for 2015’s Furious 7, Diesel’s co-star and close friend Paul Walker tragically died in a high-speed car accident in Santa Clarita, California. He was the passenger in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT with his friend Roger Rodas. The car struck a lamp-post and two trees at around 90mph. Sadly, both died almost immediately from the impact and burn injuries.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement
In 2002, following the release of the first Fast and Furious film, Diesel was riding his motorbike through Hollywood when he witnessed a high-speed car crash. The actor stopped his bike and ran to the twisted wreckage and managed to pull multiple family members from the car, seconds before it burst into flames. Thankfully, nobody was seriously harmed in the accident.
Vin Diesel ‘Auditions’ The Cars That Are Seen In The ‘Fast & Furious’ Films
Vin Diesel, who stars as well as produces the Fast & Furious movies, revealed that he doesn’t just select cars for the films, but audition them too. Diesel explained during an appearance on Entertainment Weekly‘s podcast in June 2021. “Part of the process of Fast is we’ve always auditioned our cars,” the action movie actor said.
“The cars have really been such a significant part and representation of our characters, that there is a process of casting, right? Of casting the exact vehicle for the state of mind that the character is in, or the journey that the character is going through.” Fast & Furious 7 features one of the most expensive cars of the franchise: the 2013 W Motors Lykan Hypersport.
Vin Diesel Has Already Thought Of The Final Scene Of ‘Fast & Furious’
After more than twenty years, it appears that the Fast & Furious saga is entering is in its final stretch. Vin Diesel already has the final scene in mind that will cap off the wild ride.
Speaking to Collider, Vin Diesel said: “I have a scene that’s recurring [in my mind] and has been for years now of what I always imagined what the finale of the finale would be. And Justin [Lin] and I have talked to great lengths and worked towards that,” Diesel explained. “So much of [‘F9’] is getting prepped and ready for the two-part finale of the saga.”
He continued: “Could I articulate it now or would I articulate it? I might not be able to do that, but what’s unique about this release is that we had to push the release a year. And we pushed into our preproduction of that two-part ‘Fast’ finale. So, every day, I’m coming to talk about ‘Fast 9’ and going home to work on ‘Fast 10.’”
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement #M885111ScriptRootC1463137 { min-height: 300px; }