On what would have been Paul Walker‘s 46th birthday, Vin Diesel is sharing a sweet message to his late “brother.”
Diesel is currently filming Fast & Furious 9 in Scotland, but he took time on Thursday to remember his Fast & Furious costar, who died nearly six years ago during a break from production on Furious 7.
“So much to tell you… so much to share,” he said speaking directly to Walker on Instagram. “We threw a party for the crew last night in appreciation for all of their hard work. It was one of those moments that so often in the past we were together smiling and getting everyone drunk, especially Justin [Lin]. Haha. Who by the way would make you so proud with what he is accomplishing with this film. Nathalie [Emmanuel] was there, in her loving spirit. Oh, and John Cena was there, who you would just love. His gratitude is palpable… and knowing you, you would just want him to win. This week the studio came to meet about the next chapter, your ears were ringing again. You would have gotten a kick out of the fact that we met in a chapel. It was profound.”
He continued, “Normally today I would be planning how to embarrass you with a birthday cake. Haha. Instead I reflect on how lucky I am to call you my brother. The tears never go away, but they change… from that of mourning to that of grace. We only hope to make you proud. Speaking of which, guess what message I woke up to… your daughter. Meadow sending me love on this day. Wow, she knows me so well. She has your heart. Happy birthday… it’s amazing, but somehow you continue to make the world a better place.”
Diesel wasn’t alone in sharing the memories and birthday love, with Walker’s daughter Meadow, Fast director Justin Lin, and his Fast costars Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Dwayne Johnson all paying tribute.
This is just the latest example of social media love that the Fast family has showed for Walker, who launched the Fast franchise with Diesel and starred together in six of the films, the last being Furious 7, which was completed with the help of Walker’s brothers acting as stand-ins. Caleb and Cody Walker have expressed interest in finding a way to have Paul’s character Brian return before the franchise wraps.