Vin Diesel was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother and adoptive father in an artist's housing project in New York's Greenwich Village, never knowing his biological father. His first break in acting happened by chance, when at the age of seven he and his friends broke into a theatre to vandalize it. A woman stopped them and offered them each a script and $20, on the condition that they would attend everyday after school. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his father, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit. At 17 and already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to Vin Diesel.

Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at used Car Prices" by Rick Schmidt. The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial, which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.

Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays. Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it didn't sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan. Multi-Facial earned Vin more work, when the director of The Iron Giant saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career has steadily grown, with him securing his first lead role as 'Richard B Riddick' in the sci-fi film Pitch Black. That role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.


The Chronicles of Riddick (2004): $11,500,000
A Man Apart (2003): $2,500,000
xXx (2002): $10,000,000
The Fast and the Furious (2001): $2,000,000
Saving Private Ryan (1998): $100,000

He worked as a bouncer in New York at the famous nightclubs Tunnel (which has since closed) and Mars. Has an Italian Mastiff named "Roman". Ranked #46 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #95 in 2002. Was offered the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Daredevil (2003) that eventually went to Ben Affleck. Producing partner with George Zakk. Their company is called One Race Productions. During his teens, he performed breakdancing in an instructional video on the subject. He was cast opposite Ben Affleck in Reindeer Games (2000), but left the production shortly after filming began over concerns with the quality of Ehren Kruger's screenplay and creative differences with director John Frankenheimer. Was listed as a potential nominee on both the 2003 and 2004 Razzie Award nominating ballots. He was listed as a suggestion for the Worst Actor category on the 2003 ballot for his performances in the films Knockaround Guys (2001) and xXx (2002). And was listed as a suggestion again on the nominating ballot in the Worst Actor category the next year for his role in A Man Apart (2003). He did not receive either nomination. The following year though, he finally received his first Razzie nomination for Worst Actor in the film The Chronicles of Riddick (2004). However he didn't "win". Once worked as a telemarketer, selling light bulbs. He gained 35 pounds so he could portray "Fat Jackie" in Find Me Guilty (2006). He and his girlfriend, Paloma Jiménez, welcomed their first child, a girl, on April 2nd, 2008. Revealed that the daughter he welcomed in April 2008, is named Hania Riley. [September 2008]. Lives in Los Angeles, California.