Director Steven Spielberg took notice of Diesel after seeing him in Multi-Facial and cast him in a small role for his 1998 war epic Saving Private Ryan.ĭiesel subsequently voiced the titular character in The Iron Giant (1999) while gaining a reputation as an action star after headlining the Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick franchises.ĭiesel portrays Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. In 1997, Diesel made his first feature length film Strays, which he also wrote, produced and directed. In 1995, he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.ĭiesel began auditioning for roles in the early 1990s but struggled to gain roles and instead decided to make his own low-budget film.

Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and producer.