Vin Diesel was raised by his astrologer/psychiatrist mother and adoptive father in Westbeth, the artist's housing project in New York's Greenwich Village. 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 including the Tunnel and Mars. 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 (1994), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1994) 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 (1997).

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 (1994) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1994) earned Vin more work, when the director of Iron Giant, The (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. Since then he has written an original screenplay titled "Doormen" as a follow-up to Strays. However, his acting career exploded and his plans to direct the film have had to be postponed for now.

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 (2000). He has also starred in The Fast and the Furious (2001) xXx (2002), A Man Apart (2003), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), and the Pacifier (2005). These roles have earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.

He also starred in 2006’s comedy Find Me Guilty.

Filmography

• Hannibal the Conqueror (2008)
• Babylon A.D. (2008)
• Rockfish (2007)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Find Me Guilty (2006)
• The Pacifier (2005)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
• A Man Apart (2003)
• xXx (2002)
• Knockaround Guys (2001)
• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• Pitch Black (2000)
• Boiler Room (2000)
• Into Pitch Black (2000)
• Multi-Facial (1999)
• The Iron Giant (1999)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Strays (1997)
• Awakenings (1990)

Awards

• MTV Movie Award Best On-Screen Team "The Fast and the Furious 2002