Forever conjoined to the action genre largely thanks to his starring role as Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, Vin Diesel has enjoyed a fruitful career that’s seen him carve out a unique space for himself in Hollywood to become one of the world’s highest-grossing actors.
While he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Vin Diesel has consistently defied the critics by returning with one blockbuster after another, with the proverbial proof in the pudding being his ubiquity and the depth of his coffers.
Diesel began his acting career in 1990 but initially found difficulty in securing his big break until he wrote, starred in, and directed the 1995 short film Multi-Facial. Buoyed by his first taste of success, Diesel went one step further in 1997 for his celebrated 1997 feature, Strays, again in full creative control. The accomplishment of both efforts then prompted one of the most influential auteurs of all time, Steven Spielberg, to cast Diesel in the 1998 war epic Saving Private Ryan.
Following this sea change, the Californian starred in Brad Bird’s 1999 directorial debut, The Iron Giant, before gaining a reputation as one of the action genre’s it-men in the Fast and Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick franchises. Elsewhere, Diesel has also woven himself into the cultural fabric by voicing Groot in six Marvel Cinematic Universe films, which began with James Gunn’s 2014 outing, Guardians of the Galaxy.
Despite being inextricably linked to modern action movies, Vin Diesel once revealed the name of his favourite feature-length of all time, and it could not be further from the tough-guy character he is usually viewed as. The actor made the admission in Cindy Perlman’s 2007 book You Gotta See This: More Than 100 of Hollywood’s Best Reveal and Discuss Their Favourite Films. He named the classic 1939 historical romance, Gone With the Wind as his favourite, starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard.
Diesel said: “I have to say Gone With the Wind. I love Clark Gable epics, but there is something more about this one. If you think about it, Gone With the Wind really is the first action movie. You have Rhett having to go through this tumultuous time of war. Here is a man who has to transport the people he loves, including his woman, Scarlett”.
“They need to move from one bad location to the next during this time of war with the entire city burning all around them. This was also shot way before the days of computer-generated effects. You can still watch the burning of Atlanta today and marvel at the technical brilliance of this film.”
Diesel continued: “You really felt the heat and the danger. Then you get to the end of the movie and there’s more action. Scarlett has to kill the Union men who want to take over her house. Now, there was a woman who was not just beautiful, but she had guts.”
The actor then provided a personal account of the “perfect” Vivien Leigh. He said: “It’s not easy to kill Union soldiers in a hoop skirt. love an epic that’s laced with love. Has there ever been a better big-screen love story? She wasn’t easy, but well worth it. He wasn’t easy either, but perfect for her. I have to tell you that I was so in love with Vivien Leigh”.
He concluded: “She was so beautiful. So perfect. That delicate little face. Gorgeous.”
