I’m not a Vin Diesel fan. Personally, I can’t think of a single film that he’s been in were his performance was any more than “adequate”. I’m not saying he hasn’t been in any good movies (Saving Private Ryan, Iron Giant), it’s just that I honestly don’t find him to be an exceptional actor.
Now, having said that, Vin Diesel is actually one of the more intelligent guys you’ll find around Hollywood. Despite his skid like exterior, he’s actually very well spoken, carries himself well, and in all reality has made some very good career decisions. He seems to pick the right kind of projects to be involved in at the right time, takes some risks (some of which just don’t work out) and most importantly he knows when to hop of a sinking ship. For example…
Both xXx and Fast and the Furious were modest hits that would have certainly netted Vin big paydays for sequels. However, he was sharp enough to recognize that sequels to the horrible Point Break rip off Fast and the Furious and dumb to the core xXx were stupid ideas. Yes, he could have taken some big paychecks for those sequels… but he knew they were bad ideas and decided not to take the fast money at the expense of his thriving career. Good for him.
Want more proof that a sequel to xXx was a bad idea? Well… they got Ice Cube to be the new lead (nuff said).
So no, I don’t think Vin Diesel is much of an actor… but you’ve got to tip your hat to a guy who seems to knows when to takes risks and how to be smart with his career. Good on ya Vin.
Ok….my be is not Al Pacino…
but is not a bad actor.
My be non an Oscar actor, but not bad.
Well everyone seems to be arguing how bad of an actor Vin is, but the bottom line is fans decide by paying to see the movie. And as for those comments of what constitutes a hit–say around 100$ mil–The Pacifier was at 120 or 130$ mil a couple weeks ago before it dropped off the top 12 movies listed on yahoo, and only because several big mega hits came out toting 60$ to 158$ mil just for one week!
The bottom line is studios pay actors based on what their perception of their fan base is and most of that is based on past record at the box office and he’s obviously made enough off each movie for them to give him what he wants on the projects hes accepted… that’s the bottom line.
Hola mi nombre es julieta y la verdad me encanta como trabaja Vin ademas de estar muy bien.
Bueno me encantaria saber su direccion para escribirle, jeej un beso juli
ah`…. why the Robert De Niro Hatin`….. AND NO HE’S NOT LIKE AL PACINO!!
I take it most of you have not seen Boiler Room. This movie may not be a masterpiece but I think it proved to me when I first saw it that this actor has screen presence.
Hey there BATMAN
Yeah… I do actually think you need to give a star a little credit when they refuse to do a sequel just for the sake of doing a sequel. Even most of the biggest stars seem to sell out and do them (Robert De Niro – Ananlyze That).
wow, so every “star” should be lauded for turning down bad movie projects?
vin diesel is vin diesel. he is no one special.
both Pitch Black and TCoR were good, and so will the finale riddick movie too. the pacifier was a good family movie. but my fav F & F was no doubt the best, fast cars, hot chicks. XxX was ok, and so was knockaround guys, A man apart, i really didn’t care for, but hey when you need money you’ll do anything- right.
Well…do your two buttcheeks know Oprah…I think not…point proven..
I think yall need to give Vin a lil` break… He’s not that bad of an actor, it’s not like you have to get up during one of his movies and vomit…..If you want a bad actor lets start a discussion why Samuel L Jackson is overrated and the fact that my two butt cheeks have more acting talent then John Travolta( Sure he had some big hits… but come on.. HE SUCKS!!)
Vin Diesel is the worst actor I have ever seen.
His movies are straight Garbage.
He is secretly gay. I know a girl who told me.
Vin Diesel: Stop acting. You are a doing a disservice to the american public when you act. Your actions are so unamerican. Do you call yourself a patriot? Please Stop acting. What would Jesus do.
Go get your own fitness channel.
Personally I always thought that Vin Diesel was being prematurely pushed/marketed as the “next thing” before having really accomplishing anything significant. Another example would be the Olsen Twins. You know actors who haven’t done anything that anybody knows about in a long time. Then all of a sudden you watch entertainment tonight or access holiday touting their stardom. It’s like “huh who’s this guy?”
I think Vin Diesel would’ve done a lot better in the era of Sly Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lungren and Ah-nold. Today’s action stars, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise aren’t exactly body builders. Now Ah-nold was kind of lucky since he got into some great movies like Terminator even though his talent was limited.
In my opinion, Vin Diesel has not been in a good enough movie to be demanding leading actor salaries. He needs more good movies. Vin has two ways to go from here, he can try and get into a good project and hope he gets lucky (the Ah-nold root) or if he continues to only do silly action movies like XXX with little substance then he’ll most likely end up like Dolph Lungren or Jean Claude Van Damme. One of those forgotten action stars.
You got a good point about him making some smart career moves but I actaully think he’s not bad in his movies, I’ll take him over Sly or Van Damme any day of the week.
star in any movie with “necromongers”, and you have a hit on your hands.
i don’t remember for sure, but didn’t he have a hand in steering the storyline for the the chronicles of riddick, and isn’t he also trying/intending to develop the story for the next sequel?
riddick rocked!!
I second Mark’s comments on Diesel having a strong “presence”. That’s what got him acclaim initially, and that’s what his role in Pitch Black was all about. But once you put Diesel in the forefront, he falters. F&F was when Diesel should have quit while he was ahead, and returned to doing either less high profile acting roles or as part of an ensemble. It all went downhill for him, as an actor, from XXX and on.
As for Chronicles, the impression I’ve always had is that he really wanted to do that movie, being a sci-fi fan himself. The problem with that movie was less him and more on the shoulders of its director/screenwriter. The movie was overproduced and over-conceptualized junk. It should have been a far more modest production, with a more intimate storyline, in line with Pitch Black.
Ok…..I still dont agree but I’ll listen to you. I still think….like Russell Crow….He thinks a awful lot of himself. I did see something on the Sidney lumet film….what’s up with that hair piece he has on? As far as the ‘not doing the XXX2″ thing…if it made $200 mill and it was praised by all…..bet he woulda done another….the only reason that movie got done was….lower the budget and get a former james bond director and a low pay rapp….err…..actor….try to make another $100 mill….that was a studio decision….It made $100 mill on Vin’s name alone…..bet it tops out at mif $70’s….any takers?
Hey there Jason
Oh gosh… that was years ago… but it’s pretty much common knowlege.
As far as FF3, that’s just a rumour that’s he back in it. Nothing official has been confirmed on it yet (despite what some websites suggest).
He wants a bonafide hit? What a shock!!! Every single actor on the planet wants a bonafide hit. Any actor who says otherwise is a liar.
Money? You mean Vin Diesel does his job for money? Ummm… don’t we all?
His next film, FIND ME GUILTY will be killer. It’s got Sidney Lumet directing and looks like it’ll be great.
Ummm… when a film makes over $100 million… for any reason… it’s a hit. Good or bad.
Smart moves to not appear in XXX2 or FF2. Great getting hooked up with Sidney Lumet. Carries himself very well. However… I stll don’t think he’s much of an actor. He still has a lot to prove.
Show you you’re wrong? My dear boy… I AM JOHN… that means I’m always right. When will the rest of the world figure that out? :)
Cheers!
and they paid him $20 mill. to do the Pitch sequel. John….question….where did you ever see that he intentionally priced him out of the market? They started talkin sequel while Fast was in the theater….he did XXX because he wanted a franchise…..for money not script…becasue if that was the case….when he read that script…he coulda seen it was seriuosly flawed and the supporting cast(minus Sam Jackson) was untalented….isnt it acceptable to conclude that the reason he is going back to the 3rd Fast and Furious is because he hasnt choosen the best things over the past 3 years and would like to have a bonafide hit? XXX was NOT a hit…it was hyped to the 100 million mark. Sorry….I think you must be seeing something I dont….show me I’m wrong.
Hey there Ash:
Actually, he intentionally priced himself out of those projects, which was a brilliant move. Hell, give me $35 million and I’ll appear in a movie kissing my own mom. He basically put himself in a no lose situation.
As far as a Pitch Black sequel, it was a good risk to take. I didn’t like Pitchblack at all… but it was a Risk… it didn’t work out.
well…..lets be acurate about good ol Vin. He turned down Fast and filthy went they would pay him 20 mill to reprise the roll…..that was when he decided to do the XXX….he even said this was his James Bond and wanted to create a franchise….it sucked….they should of picked a better suporting cast….and when it didnt make the money fast enough….he decide to go bakc to Pitch Dark…..now to tell you where I’m comin from…..how quickly we forget that he said after Fast and before XXX….he always know he was a star and DEMANDED Star pay…..I still check out his stuff but he’s not a guy who carefully picks his career path….PAY DAY is the path of choice…..worse yet….its based on one bonafide hit(FAST) and one that was hyped(XXX)(leave Private Ryan out)…..maybe the Pacifier….but I havent followed it. I feel asleep during Riddick….sorry
Hmm. I’m not quite sure where these comments are coming from. I would say that Diesel is in fact one of the most foolish actors we’ve had the misfortune of watching. Here’s a man with very little acting ability who was fortunate enough to gain public popularity through two horrendous films.
Now after being heralded as the next action hero, the ‘genius’ demanded massive paychecks for the sequels of the aforementioned films (as Raven pointed out). He wasn’t “sharp enough to recognize” how bad these film series were, he was just greedy.
And so the decision backfired on him. He cut the lifespan of his action hero career in half, and used his genius business sense to star in a Pitch Black sequel, and a Disney movie… Give him props for his ego, but not his smarts. The guy’s going to have to try a lot harder if he wants to be a governor.
With his new project Hannibal under way, which he will direct, I believe
Diesel excudes a great “presence” in movies. The problem is, he started taking on too many leading, mediocre roles in movies that studios released all about the same period of time to capitalize on his rising fame. But Diesel might not have what it takes to lead a movie well, at least at this point in his career, yet Hollywood has been desperate for a new leading action star.
Diesel should scale back and take smaller roles in more arty, unique films. (It appears he’s already doing this.) He should refuse to ride the Hollywood hype train and just take a break from it, while continuing to act in less high profile projects.
I suppose I will always have a soft spot for Vin Diesel as are all the guys cast by Spielberg to form the platoon led by Tom Hanks in “Saving Private Ryan”. One of my favorite scenes from that film was between Vin (Caparzo) and Adam Goldberg (Mellish) on their way to look for Ryan. Vin, alongside Edward Burns & Adam Goldberg are first and foremost directors and it was their work during separate Sundance occassions that Spielberg noticed their talent.
So you could say that yeah, he may not excel in the acting department (I’ve only seen him in “XXX”) but he obviously has made his way into the business and has learned how to map his career.
Heh, John, I’m not sure but I believe that in case of those two movies it was only about the money – he wanted too much! He wanted $30 million for Fast and the Furious sequel and they didn’t want to pay that much and it was the same case with xXx I believe. Not sure though, I may be wrong…