![\"Vin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Vin-Diesel-Actor-2013-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n
Fri 29 May 2026 13:30, UK <\/p>\n
At this stage of his career, you\u2019ve got to wonder where Vin Diesel<\/a> would have ended up today were it not for his beloved franchises, which have been the gifts that keep on giving for the last 25 years.<\/p>\n After all, since 2008, the chrome-domed action hero has appeared in 19 features, and how many of them weren\u2019t part of an existing film series? Three. Of those three outliers, how many of them haven\u2019t had sequels teased at one point or another by the actor and producer? Just the one, incredibly.<\/p>\n Ang Lee\u2019s dismal Billy Lynn\u2019s Halftime Walk is the only movie Diesel has made in the last two decades that wasn\u2019t designed with follow-ups in mind, and even though The Last Witch Hunter hasn\u2019t gotten one yet, recent moves have suggested that Michael Caine could be coaxed out of retirement<\/a> to do it. Bloodshot, on the other hand, you forgot existed, so it\u2019d be safe to assume that\u2019ll stay a one-and-done thing.<\/p>\n And to think, he wasn\u2019t the first choice to play Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious, either. The part was offered to Timothy Olyphant, who turned it down<\/a>, opening the door for Diesel to spend a quarter of a century droning on about family, defying the laws of physics, and refusing to wear anything with sleeves.<\/p>\n That was a massive what-if in itself, but an even bigger one unfolded immediately beforehand. Toretto might be the defining character of his career, but Diesel has always given off the impression that Richard B Riddick is his favourite, and his first major leading role in a movie, David Twohy\u2019s 2000 cult favourite Pitch Black, set him on the path towards the A-list.<\/p>\n An effective B-tier sci-fi thriller, Diesel\u2019s gravel-throated monotone and physicality made him a perfect fit for the intergalactic mercenary, and as he\u2019s wont to do<\/a>, he reprised the gig in two sequels, with another on the way, as well as a pair of video games and an animated short. However, he only got the part because Twohy refused to bow to the studio\u2019s demands, which were preposterous in hindsight.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a strange moment, a pivotal moment, in the casting process,\u201d the filmmaker recalled. \u201cI was down in Australia, I was scouting locations, I was building sets, when a call came from Los Angeles that said, \u2018OK, we gave the script to\u2026 \u2018Big Action Star of the Day\u2019. And he wants to do it.’\u201d<\/p>\n Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n That knocked the director for a loop, especially when their reputation preceded them. \u201cUnfortunately, this \u2018Big Action Star of the Day\u2019 was known to be a major dick as well,\u201d Twohy added. \u201cAnd so, in a very pivotal moment, I said no. I\u2019m not going to do that. I\u2019m just not going to cast that guy in the movie.\u201d Hmm, an action star who was still semi-notable at the turn of the millennium, who was also known to be a wanker of cosmic proportions<\/a>, who could that possibly be?<\/p>\n If your mind instantly wandered to a certain portly aikido master, you\u2019d be right on the money. \u201cYou may have the choice of making the movie with Steven Seagal or not making the movie at all,\u201d he was told. Steven Seagal? Playing Riddick? In Pitch Black? Fucking hell, what a shitshow that would have been. Fortunately, Twohy put his foot down, refused to hire the vaunted arsehole, and handed Diesel his big-screen breakout role instead.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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