Childhood

Mark Vincent was born July 18, 1967, in New York.

Vin Diesel was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother and adoptive father in New York's Greenwich Village. He never knew his biological father.

He has two sisters and a fraternal twin brother named Paul (film Editor).

Vin attended the Anglo-American International School in New York, New York, and performed break dancing in an instructional video during his teens. Vin continued his college by studying English in the Hunter College in New York, New York, but dropped out after three years to pursue his acting career in Hollywood.

At seven years of age a chance encounter kicked off Vin's acting career.. Vin and his friends had broken into a local theater, and rather than getting caught and reprimanded for trespassing, Diesel and his buds were handed scripts and were offered $20 dollars per week, on the condition that they show up after school every day.

At 17, sporting a well-honed physique, Vin became a bouncer at some of New York's hippest clubs to earn himself some extra cash. It was at this time that he changed his name to 'Vin Diesel'.

Following high school, Vin enrolled as an English major at Hunter College, but dropped out after three years to go to Hollywood to further his acting career.

Career

Vin’s road to success wasn't paved with good luck and fortune.

Diesel's theater experience did not make any impression in Hollywood and after a year of struggling to make his mark, he returned to New York. His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at Used Car Prices" by 'Rick Schmidt'. The book showed him how to take control of his career and make his own movies.

He did, and his filmmaking, writing, producing, and starring role in the film short Multi-Facial (based on his experiences of trying to make it as an actor) screened at Cannes Film Festival in 1995.

The film was well received in the high-profile Cannes Film Festival in 1995 and he followed it up with the feature drama Strays, which became a hit at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.

Steven Spielberg saw Diesel's performance in Mutli-Facial and created the role of Private 1st Class Adrian Caparzo in Saving Private Ryan for him.

Following the success of Saving Private Ryan, Diesel 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.

The summer of 2001 proved that Diesel could draw in audiences as a leading man, with his testosterone pumped role in The Fast and the Furious, as Jordana Brewster's older brother, Dominic. The film was tops at the box-office and took in millions.

After starring in a string of action and thriller movies, Diesel surprised his fans by making a jump into comedy. He starred as Navy SEAL agent Shane Wolfe, who becomes a baby-sitter for a group of children, in Adam Shankman's family comedy, The Pacifier. Despite the film's top box-office status, Diesel received mixed reviews for his unexpected role.