Vin Diesel XXXposed by Michael Robin

Author:Michael Robin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2002-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Even when he plays a robot, Vin is hairless.

But Bird still needed someone to play his title character, a gargantuan, misunderstood robot. Who had the voice of a giant with a kindhearted soul? Well, duh. An associate of Bird’s who had worked with Vin at Sundance brought in a copy of Multi-Facial. Vin auditioned for and won the job over some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

The long hours in front of the microphone took their toll on Vin’s voice. America’s most famous rasp fell silent for hours after each day’s recording session so that Vin’s vocal chords could recover. Despite the punishment his instrument took during the making of The Iron Giant, Vin has no regrets about his involvement with the film, and has even expressed interest in doing a sequel. The film won critical acclaim and was hailed as one of the best films of the year and called “an instant classic.” Though it did not do well commercially, it has since gained cult status, a path taken by another perennial favorite, The Wizard of Oz. It’s ironic that the Iron Giant’s line that most summed up his being and the theme of the movie was “I am not a gun.” Vin delivered the line with all the poignancy required, perhaps sensing that in future roles a gun was exactly what he was going to become.

Reindeer—Used to Laugh and Call Vin Names

Vin Diesel still encountered some pitfalls on his way to the top, notably an ill-fated job on 1999’s Reindeer Games. Miramax had lured Vin aboard the Ben Affleck action vehicle with the promise of a two-picture deal and additional development of his underdeveloped character. Shortly after Vin’s arrival on the set, it became clear that all was not going as planned. Rolling Stone has reported Vin’s version of what esteemed director John Frankenheimer, who died of a stroke this past July, said to him: “Frankly, Vin, I’m too old, too busy, and too fucking rich to worry about your character.” Vin walked.

“I was inconsequential to the picture and thought I was leaving on good terms,” Diesel explained to Film ’s Bob Strauss. “Why should a director have an actor who doesn’t want to do the role forced on him by the studio? It was unfair to Frankenheimer, and I was walking away from more money than I’ve ever seen.”

But Vin was appalled to read, in Premiere magazine, a very different version of the events. According to Frankenheimer, Vin had been fired. The article made him seem like an egocentric villain. One rumor had it that he had refused to act with his shirt off (although close scrutiny of the Diesel oeuvre suggests that toplessness is not one of his hang-ups). From that point forward, some in Hollywood would label him “difficult.”

“He has passion,” said Universal’s co-president of production Scott Stuber in Premiere, “and people who are passionate are sometimes misinterpreted as difficult.”

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