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Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel Actor, producer, writer, and director Vin Diesel had a charmed entry into the world of screen acting: after seeing Multi-Facial, a short that Diesel wrote, produced, financed, directed, and starred in, Steven Spielberg created the role of Private Caparzo specifically for the talented young newcomer in his Saving Private Ryan (1998).
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Born in New York City on July 18, 1967, Diesel made his stage debut at the age of seven in "Theatre for the New City," which was produced in Greenwich Village. He continued to be involved with the theatre throughout his adolescence, and he went on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his studies in creative writing led him to begin writing screenplays. Diesel became active in filmmaking in the early '90s, first earning notice for the short Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. He followed up Multi-Facial with his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he cast himself as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed, and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, which led to a deal with MTV to turn it into a series.

Following the success of Saving Private Ryan, Diesel could be heard voicing the title character of the animated The Iron Giant (1999), another critically praised feature. He then starred with fellow young actors Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Affleck, Jamie Kennedy, and Nicky Katt in Boiler Room, an off-Wall Street drama that cast him as one of the members of a shady brokerage firm. He also flexed his sci-fi muscles in Pitch Black (2000), an interplanetary thriller that featured him and fellow Earthlings doing battle with a host of nasty alien mutants. Diesel jumped genres yet again as a devious, determined hot-rodder in The Fast and the Furious (2001), a cheeky, action-packed street racing picture in the vein of '50s exploitation flicks. The low-profile, star-free summer release left skid marks at the box office as it grossed over million dollars in its first weekend alone -- more than enough to cover its production costs, and enough to lead many to believe that Diesel had finally arrived as a bankable leading man.

Filmography
Chronicles of Riddick, The (2003) .... Richard B. Riddick
Untitled Vin Diesel Project (2002) .... Sean Vetter
XXX (2002) .... Xander Cage/Triple X
Knockaround Guys (2001) .... Taylor Reese
Fast and the Furious, The (2001) .... Dominic Toretto
Pitch Black (2000) .... Richard B. Riddick
Boiler Room (2000) .... Chris Varick
Making of 'The Iron Giant', The (1999) (TV) .... Host/Iron Giant
Iron Giant, The (1999) (voice) .... Iron Giant
Into the Breach: 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) (V) .... Himself (segment "Pvt. Caparzo")
Saving Private Ryan (1998) .... Private 1st Class Adrian Caparzo
Strays (1997) .... Rick
Multi-Facial (1994) .... Mike

Television Guest Appearences
"Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The" (1999) playing "Himself" 7/26/2001
"Panel, The" (1998) playing "Himself"(episode # 3.11) 5/17/2000

 

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