Since coming to prominence in Saving Private Ryan, Vin Diesel has carved out a lucrative career as the consummate high-octane action star. But against the sound and fury, he has returned to his roots in a visceral war drama – and Oscar contender. MH meets a man not only larger than life, but smarter by half
A minute ago he came upon a broken-down piano decomposing in an alleyway and promptly started pounding on the keys, reprising a pivotal scene in Saving Private Ryan. Now he’s standing on the roof of a beaten-up car, forearms rippling and a huge smile on his face.
He’s in the midst of Men’s Health’s photoshoot beside a gritty south Los Angeles warehouse, but he also has his iPhone in hand, throwing out an impromptu live video to millions of his Facebook followers. Some workers from a nearby factory are leaning off a fire escape, filming the moment themselves, and suddenly he’s conversing with them in Spanish. This is not your typical Hollywood junket; it’s a multilingual, multimedia vaudeville circus in which the star is evidently digging the chaos. Powwow over, he leaps off the car and walks toward the camera, assuming the familiar character that the public has come to know as textbook Vin Diesel. He simultaneously exudes menace and joviality; there is an edge under that smile, a kind heart somewhere under that edge. There are triceps like ham hocks, an uncontrollable laugh and a dangerous swagger. “Your walk is everything,” Diesel tells MH as the photographer lowers his lens. “Where I grew up in New York City, your walk defines you.”
A CHANGE OF GEAR
Truly defining this man is no simple task, however. He likes to wrap himself in ambiguity and contradictions, defying the straightforward expectations that many people project onto his broad shoulders. Diesel may embrace his fame as a muscled, megaton action hero, but he’s also carving out a far broader career – as an actor, director, producer, social-media pioneer, and dealmaker.
This story is from the January - February 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
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This story is from the January - February 2017 edition of Men's Health UK.
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