American action star Vin Diesel turns 47 today. Nur Aqidah Azizi looks at some of his cinema work, including an anticipated blockbuster
1. Awakenings (1990)
Diesel’s silver screen debut saw him playing a psych ward orderly in this movie, produced in 1990. The film featured Robin Williams and Robert De Niro as the leads, alongside Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, and Max Von Sydow. A then-unknown, Diesel was not credited in the movie.
2. Multi-Facial (1995)
Four years after his debut film, Diesel directed, wrote, produced, scored and starred in this movie which depicted the professional and emotional issues faced by Mike (Diesel), a mixed race actor of Italian-African American ancestry. The film was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival and the famous director Steven Spielberg noticed Diesel’s bold effort and cast him in his next movie, Saving Private Ryan.
3. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
This American epic war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Diesel played Private First Class Adrian Caparzo, a rifleman, alongside other giant Hollywood names which included Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. The movie boosted his career when it won various awards including the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Director.
4. Pitch Black (2000)
This science fiction thriller was co-written and directed by David Twohy and starred Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Keith David. It had a budget of US$23 million (RM73.3 million). Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a hit and grossed over US$53 million worldwide. Diesel’s portrayal of the anti-hero Riddick resulted in a cult following and the movie spawned a sequel, The Chronicles Of Riddick (released in 2004), with Diesel reprising the role.
5. The Fast And The Furious (2001)
This car race movie gave Diesel fame as an action hero. He starred as Dominic Toretto, a professional street racer and leader of a band of hijackers. A major financial success, it gave birth to a franchise — 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and Fast And Furious 7 (2015).
6. xXx (2002)
Pronounced Triple X, Diesel acted alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Marton Csokas in this spy thriller that was also a box office success. Filming was affected when Diesel’s stunt double, Harry O’Connor, was killed when he hit a pillar of the Palacky Bridge in Prague para-sailing during one of the action scenes.
7. The Chronicles Of Riddick (2004)
This American science fiction film follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in Pitch Black. Diesel was also producer. The movie received mostly negative reviews from film critics, and Diesel was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor at the 2004 Golden Raspberry Awards.
8. The Pacifier (2005)
Diesel showed a new facet of talent when he played a comedic role in this action comedy drama. Despite the negative reviews, the movie was a box office success, earning US$30 million in its opening weekend. The story revolves around a disgraced Navy officer who has to protect the children of a deceased scientist who was working for a top-secret project.
9. Babylon A.D. (2008)
A French-British-American science fiction based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, it was released in 2008. Set in an anarchic landscape in the year 2058, Diesel played a smuggler-turned-mercenary. Despite its worldwide box office gross of over US$72 million, the film was a bomb, considering its production budget was US$70 million.
10. Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Diesel will be voicing the tree-like alien character Groot in the action film Guardians Of The Galaxy. Expected to be released next month, this American superhero film also features an ensemble cast which includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and Bradley Cooper.