Though the years, Vin Diesel has emerged as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. After getting his big break with a supporting role in Saving Private Ryan, he started appearing in Hollywood movies until he became a household name with the Fast and Furious franchise.
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Diesel certainly fits the image of the modern action star with his muscle-bound stature, his tough-guy persona, and his ability to deliver a badass one-liner. In fact, Diesel’s career is filled with iconic lines that fans will no doubt remember, from the intimidating action star quotes to ones that are surprisingly touching.
They Say Most Of Your Brain Shuts Down In Cryo-Sleep – Pitch Black (2000)
They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side. No wonder I’m still awake.
This line comes from one of Diesel’s first leading man roles in the sci-fi horror movie Pitch Black. The movie follows a group of space travelers who become marooned on an island filled with creatures that hunt in the dark. However, it is best known for introducing the character of Riddick.
In the opening moments of the movie, Riddick, a criminal being transported on a spacecraft, narrates as the rest of the ship is in cryo-sleep. It is the perfect introduction to this memorable character who is more animal than human.
Superman – The Iron Giant (1999)
Diesel is also known for his voice-over work, even if these roles don’t require a large vocabulary from the actor. The underrated and brilliant animated movie The Iron Giant is among Diesel’s most acclaimed movies in which he voices a giant robot who crashes on Earth and is discovered by a young boy.
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The movie is funny and entertaining but also heartbreaking as the boy tries to teach the giant that he does not have to be the weapon he was designed to be. In the end, when a missile threatens to destroy the entire town, the giant flies up to intercept it. In his last moments, he remembers the boy’s words that he can be anything he chooses to be. The giant closes his eyes and says, “Superman.”
I’ll Kill You With My Tea Cup – The Chronicles Of Riddick (2004)
After his debut in Pitch Black, the character of Riddick got his own spinoff movie that explored his intergalactic adventures. Mostly, it was a movie about Riddick beating people up and being really cool.
After he finds himself in a dangerous prison, Riddick still shows no signs of fear. Even when he is confronted by a group of scary prisoners, Riddick just calmly sips his tea and promises he’ll kill the thugs with his teacup. As it turns out, Riddick is a man of his word.
I Live For This S*** – xXx (2002)
Another action hero role Diesel took on was as Xander Cage in the xXx movies. Cage is an extreme sports star who is recruited by the government to use his unique death-defying skills to become a spy.
Before that, he is put through a rather intense and dangerous application process. He is kidnapped by a group of government agents and wakes up on a transport plane with a few other recruits. The door of the plane opens and the recruits are thrown out one-by-one. But Cage tells the agents this is the kind of thing he does for fun.
With his role as Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious movies, Diesel creates a down-to-Earth hero who sometimes feels like a blue-collar superhero. This is best seen in Furious 7 when Dom faces off with the villain Deckard Shaw.
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Dom promises Shaw a street fight before taking out two massive wrenches and giving one to Shaw. The two men dunk it out on a parking garage which begins to break apart. Just before Shaw falls through the hole, Dom makes it clear the in a street fight, the street is on his side.
This Is Brazil – Fast Five (2011)
It’s hard to find someone who can pose a formidable threat to Diesel, but the addition of Dwayne Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise was perfect. Johnson plays badass Marshal Luke Hobbs who is assigned to hunt down Dom and his team.
Hobbs finally locates Dom in Brazil and moves in on him in the middle of the street with a well-armed team behind him. He tells Dom he is bringing him in but Dom calmly reminds him they are not in America. The various people on the street then pull guns and outnumber Hobbs and his men.
I Don’t Have Friend, I Got Family – Furious 7 (2015)
Despite the action-heavy nature of the franchise, the Fast and Furious movies have always been about family at the heart of it all. Dom creates a close-knit group of people that form a non-traditional but very loving family who will do anything for each other.
It is a concept that Dom holds very dear to his heart and will do anything to protect. It is also his biggest strength against his enemies. When Deckard Shaw tells him to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, Dom responds that he only has family surrounding him.
You’ll Always Be My Brother – Furious 7 (2015)
Tragedy struck Hollywood and the Fast and Furious franchise when Paul Walker, who played Brian O’Conner since the first movie, was killed in a car accident. Furious 7 had to complete filming without Walker and the character of Brian retired from the life of high-speed adventures.
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But in the final moments of the movie, they pay special tribute to Walker as he and Dom share one last ride together before Brian drives off into the distance. Dom narrates his goodbye to Brian who had become his brother.
We Are Groot – Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Much like The Iron Giant, Diesel joined the MCU to voice a giant yet kind creature whose vocabulary is quite limited. Groot is the tree-like being who is best friends with Rocket and the gentlest member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
It is impressive that Diesel is able to communicate so much despite the fact that the character can only say “I am Groot.” But when Groot sacrifices himself to save his friends, he is able to muster up a slightly different farewell line that somehow says so much.
It is strange to think about how the first Fast and Furious movie, which was basically a ripoff of Point Break, managed to spawn one of the biggest franchises in the world. But a lot of it could have to do with the character of Dominic Toretto who was an interesting anti-hero.
Though he is the strong silent type, we get some insight into the character of Dom as he explains his philosophy to Brian. As he sees it, life only really matters when he is behind the wheel and for a few seconds he feels free.
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