The first time you noticed him may have been in Steven Spielbergโs Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan, back in the late โ90s. But now, ย with an impressive line-up of well-known and much-loved characters, you canโt fail to notice him.
In anticipation of his return to the role of Xander Cage in your Sunday night movie on M-Net, we thought weโd reflect on his top five roles.
Richard B. Riddick (2000 โ 2013)
Despite starting his career with dramatic roles, often in movies heโd written and directed himself, Hollywood saw Dieselโs action potential. In 2000 he was cast as Richard B. Riddick in sci-fi actioner Pitch Black. The film was a sleeper hit, thrusting Diesel into the limelight. He would reprise the role in two more feature films, an animated instalment, and a short film.
Chris Varick (2000)
Theย same year he played Riddick, Diesel flexed his acting chops in more ways than one. Cast in the tense drama Boiler Room he gave a fast-paced performance of a different kind as a broker in a high-flying, underhanded brokerage firm.
Dominic Toretto (2001 โ )
The following year saw Diesel cast in a role that would ensure weโd see his action prowess for years to come. Dom is arguably his most renowned role, which is hardly surprising given his appearance in all but one of the feature films. With two more movies and possible spin-offs, Dom and family will continue to bring us the great cast camaraderie and cool cars the franchise has become famous for.
Xander Cage / xXx (2002 โ 2017)
With this role, Diesel landed another big action movie with franchise potential. However, he ended up not making the sequel, and was replaced by Ice Cube. This year both actors returned to the franchise, with the third instalment. ย Whether or not either will return to the xXx roles again remains to be seen.
Groot (2014 โ )
Big guy, big heart right? Thatโs definitely the conclusion we came to after Dieselโs mo-cap and voice performance, together with a brilliant SFX team, brought the endearing Groot to life on the big screen. Forming part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can rest assured that youโll get to see a bit of Groot all the way up to 2019.
Watch Vin Diesel in one of his most famous roles, as he returns to the title character in your Sunday night movie xXx: Return of Xander Cage on 17 September at 20:05 on M-Net.
Watch the trailer here.