Vin Diesel and his Fast and the Furious co-star Paul Walker were more than friends. They were basically family. The pair shared a special bond that went all the way back to the very first Fast and Furious movie.
Speaking to USA Today for the original action movie’s 20th anniversary Diesel opened up about their relationship, joking that the pair could not be more different. “I was a quintessential New Yorker. He was a quintessential LA boy,” Diesel said. “It was already so unlikely that we would be not only brothers but bond the way that we did.”
Despite this East Coast versus West Coast rivalry, the pair bonded quickly at a table reading for the first film. “I remember there being a table reading a week before we started filming,” Diesel explained. “And from the very beginning, (Walker) did this strange thing, which was he made me feel like he only cared about what I thought.”
“There were 50 people in the room: actors, directors, writers, executives, producers, assistant directors,” Diesel continued. “After every other line he would read out loud, he would stop, he’d look across the room and in front of everyone say, ‘Vin, what do you think?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re going to get me in trouble, bro.'”
“Invariably, I would have to say, ‘They could give you a better line. That line’s a little goofy.’ And, boy, did he light up. It was just magic for him,” Diesel finished. “It was just something like, ‘Yeah, that’s what he’s going to tell you all if you try to give me any goofy lines. If you don’t elevate my character, he’s going to fight for it.’ And it was the beginning of what our relationship became.”
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