“The other bouncers started calling me Vin Diesel”: Before Getting Fast and Furious Fame $225M Rich Star Used to Keep His Real Identity Secret before He Got the Iconic Name
The face of the Fast And Furious franchise Vin Diesel is the official action hero of the entertainment industry. Apart from the successful action drama franchise, he has been a part of movies like Saving Private Ryan, and XXX, and even voiced the character of Groot in the James Gunn-directed Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Not many people know that the real name of Vin Diesel is Mark Sinclair. Before becoming the official Dominic Toretto of Hollywood, the actor worked as a bouncer at a New York hot spot. The actor preferred keeping his real identity a secret before he became a significant part of the billion-dollar franchise.
Vin Diesel Kept His Real Identity A Secret Before He Joined Hollywood
It is very normal for celebrities to adopt a stage name different from their real name during the initial years of their career. Vin Diesel even changed his name before entering the world of lights, cameras, and action. He had changed his name when he was just 17 and worked as a bouncer at a New York-based nightclub.
During his appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in 2006, the Fast And Furious actor spoke about his real name and even mentioned that one hardly talks about their real name when they are bouncers in New York. He said-
“In New York, when you’re a bouncer, the last thing you do is tell everybody your real name, because of all the problems. The other bouncers started calling me Vin Diesel — and it stuck.”
Vin Diesel attended Hunter College and worked as a part-time bouncer at the nightclubs. He went on to take another name for creating a different identity when he used to work as a bouncer. His name is inspired by his stepfather Vincent who raised him and his last name Diesel was chosen by him as according to a joke amongst his friends he was very enthusiastic and energetic whenever he used to operate on fuel.
When A Box Office Failure Costed Vin Diesel His Own House
During the promotion of the third installment of the Riddick franchise with The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, Vin Diesel spoke about the movie and even confessed about almost losing his house during the course of producing the movie. According to Vin Diesel, his house was one of the important factors that motivated him to complete the production of Riddick. He said-
“I had to leverage my house. If we didn’t finish the film, I would be homeless. We want a rated-R movie and we’d be willing to pay $10 each. Surely you’d have enough to make it then.”
He further added-
“Something about that comment made me think, bless their heart, and if I can do anything with this newfound success, if I could do anything at all, I could deliver on that wish. It’s a strange and unique sense of gratification, and it’s not like any film I’ve done in the last 10 years.”
Director David Twohy even mentioned that the entire crew was forced to complete the project within 47 days due to budget issues. In comparison to his other projects, Vin Diesel’s Riddick was not well received by the audience and even failed to make a significant impact at the box office.
All the parts in The Chronicles of Riddick franchise are currently available on Netflix.
Source: Late Night With Conan O’Brien/ The Hollywood Reporter
