Summary
Throughout his over three-decade career,Vin Dieselhas been part of several essential franchises and films that have defined his long and varied filmography. After graduating from Hunter College,Vin Diesel’s movie careerbegan in 1990when he played an uncredited hospital worker inAwakenings.His other roles in the ‘90s included an uncredited bouncer inNew Jack Cityand the short filmMulti-Facial, which he wrote, directed, and starred in.
Following this initial period, Diesel’s career has taken off and he is now an A-list actor and household name. Diesel is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time,with his films having made over $12 billion at the box office. TheFast and Furiousmovie franchisehas been a huge contributor to this revenue, but the actor has other high-grossing films, as well, including in the MCU. Diesel’s recent credits include voice acting roles in the video game seriesArk, but beyond voice acting, the actor has had many definitive movies in his career.
Every Vin Diesel Video Game, Ranked Worst To Best
The only thing equal to his love of cars and unwavering views regarding family is Vin Diesel’s dedication to video games and their development.
8Strays
Diesel Plays Rick
Straysis a 1997 film which Diesel wrote, starred in, directed, and produced. The actor played a man named Rick, who is an NYC-based drug dealer and bouncer who is deciding to try for a long-standing relationship after a series of one-night stands, which causes friction between Rick and his friends. In addition to Diesel,Straysfeatures a leading cast including Joey Dedio, Suzanne Lanza, T.K. Kirkland, and Mike Epps. Made on a microbudget of approximately $47,000,the independent film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.
Straysdid not do terrifically well critically, holding a40% on Rotten Tomatoesamong the five critics who reviewed it. Still,Straysis notable in that it serves as Diesel’s first and only directorial feature film.Straysclearly did not lead Diesel down the path of a directing career, but his multiple roles in the film likely helped solidify his niche. Diesel’s role inStraysalso allegedly led to one of his first huge acting roles after this film.
7Saving Private Ryan
Diesel Plays Private Adrian Caparzo
Said acting role wasSaving Private Ryan. It has long been said thatSaving Private Ryandirector Steven Spielbergwas made more aware of Diesel after watchingStrays. Diesel was cast as Private Caparzo, a supporting character in the film. Caparzo is part of the group of soldiers under Miller who attempt to save the titular Private Ryan. He is a compassionate soldier who ends up killed in combat when a German sniper murders him while he is trying to save a young girl.
Under the direction of Spielberg,Saving Private Ryanwas far and away the biggest film that Diesel had worked on up until that point. Arguably, it is still the most critically acclaimed work that the actor has ever been a part of.Saving Private Ryanhas a Certified Fresh 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and won five Oscars including Best Director. IfStraysis the film that put him on the map for industry professionals like Spielberg, it isSaving Private Ryanthat allowed Diesel more exposure to the general public.
Saving Private Ryanalso won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Effects Editing.
6The Iron Giant
Vin Diesel Was The Voice of The Iron Giant
Before Diesel catapulted to greater franchise fame in the early 2000s, the actor took on a much different role.He made his voice acting debut in 1999 withThe Iron Giant, providing the voice to the titular giant. Even though a metallic, non-human figure, the Iron Giant had to be acted with a substantial level of heart, as the character is a loving figure to the young boy at the film’s core, Hogarth.The Iron Giantremains one of the most beloved animated films of its decade.
The Iron Giantis a definitive moment of Diesel’s career in thatitestablished the actor as a voice acting talent. Though nowadays, many screen actors are asked to cross over into the voice acting sphere to gain an animated film name recognition, voice acting is a distinct skill set. The grace with which Diesel handled hisThe Iron Giantrole likely aided his casting in other voice acting opportunities, including voicing his own characters for theRiddickvideo games, and his recent voice acting roles in theArkvideo game series.
5Riddick Franchise
Vin Diesel Plays Richard Bruno Riddick
Finally, a discussion of Diesel’s work is not complete without mentioning theRiddickfranchise. Debuting in 2000 withPitch Black, the franchise sees Diesel play an intergalactic war criminal named Richard Bruno Riddick who, along with other crew members, crash lands on a planet inhabited by creatures that emerge during an eclipse.Pitch Blackwas followed up byThe Chronicles of Riddickin 2006 andRiddickin 2013.
Though it is not nearly as profitable as roles like Groot and Dom Toretto,Riddickis critical to Diesel’s career in that the films are an extreme point of passion for the actor. Diesel has even wheeled and dealt forRiddick, making a deal with Universal in 2006 thathe would cameo inThe Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Driftif he could get the rights to hisRiddickcharacter. Even though lackluster critical and box office results, Diesel has always been a champion of theRiddickfranchise, and a fourth film titledRiddick: Furyais in development.
4The Fast and the Furious Franchise
Diesel Plays Dom Toretto
Diesel’s name is most synonymous with theFast and the Furiousfranchise. Playing lead Dom Toretto, Diesel is a sleek action star in these films, driving fast and taking no prisoners.The Fast and the Furiousmovies have taken up the majority of Diesel’s career in terms of volume of films, as well as in the overall gross. At the time of writing,The Fast and Furiousfranchise has grossed over $7 billion. This total accounts for more than half of Diesel’s impressive total gross as an actor.
TheFast and Furiousfranchise has also allowed Diesel to establish himself as a producer, in addition to acting. Diesel first producedFast & Furiousin 2009, which was the fourth film in the franchise overall. Since then, he has gone on to produce other franchise films includingFast Five,Fast & Furious 6,Furious 7,The Fate of the Furious,F9: The Fast Saga, and most recently,Fast Xin 2023. His next producing credit for the series is slated to beFast X: Part 2, which is set for release in 2026.
3xXx
Diesel Plays Xander Cage
After acting inSaving Private Ryan, Diesel’s career could have gone in multiple directions. On the one hand, he could have joined the ranks with hisSaving Private Ryanco-stars like Tom Hanks and Matt Damon and gone on to act in other high-profile, award-winning films. Instead,Diesel went down a different path by becoming a massive Hollywood franchise actor.A year afterThe Fast and the Furiousbegan in 2001, Diesel continued his franchise career withxXxin 2002.
As in the case of theFast & Furiousfranchise, Diesel plays the lead role inxXx, Xander Cage. Originally developed by writer Rich Wilkes, the titular Xander Cage is an adrenaline-high action protagonist who is a part-time stuntman, extreme sports enthusiast, and spy. Similarly to Dom Toretto, Xander is a macho man action hero,creating an archetype for future roles for Diesel.xXxhas had two sequels, one of which Diesel appears in (xXx: Return of Xander Cage).
2The Pacifier
Diesel Plays Shane Wolfe
BetweenThe Fast and the Furious,xXx, andGuardians of the Galaxy, Diesel is mainly known for action films. Though Groot has a lighter quality to him, these action roles are generally of the more dramatic variety. In 2005, however,Diesel took on a different type of role when he acted inThe Pacifier.Directed by Adam Shankman and co-starring Brittany Snow, Max Tieriot, and Brad Garrett, Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is given a different kind of mission when he must take on the tough new assignment of protecting a group of children from their late father’s enemies.
While it is still an action film,The Pacifiershowsa different side of Diesel as it is far more comedic than dramatic. In protecting the children, whose father has died, the actor has to take on an almost paternal role, making for a much softer character than the others he had played before. This softness and goofiness was in some ways a precursor to his MCU debut almost a decade later, which reflected some of the threads of this early role. Different from many of his other works,The Pacifierremains one of Diesel’s most standout roles.
1Guardians of the Galaxy
Diesel Plays Groot
The Iron Giantmay have been Diesel’s first voice-acting role, but his most iconic part in the medium is now known to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Groot. Diesel made his MCU debut as the character in 2014 withThe Guardians of the Galaxy. Constructed of tree bark material, the rootlikefigure mainly relies on three words to express his feelings:I am Groot.“I am Groot” became one of the most iconic and memorable catchphrases of theGuardians of the Galaxyfilm at the time of its release.
There are a number of reasons why Groot is such a definitive role for Diesel. For one,Guardians of the Galaxyallowed the actor to make his MCU debut,inserting himself into the world’s biggest franchise. Secondly, Groot is actually a great example of Diesel’s voice-acting prowess. Groot’s vocabulary may be lacking, but his inflection is not. As a voice actor, Diesel must express all of Groot’s emotions and reactions through his vocal tone, while saying only three words. It’s an impressive feat, and one thatVinDieselpulls off to great success.
