Vin Diesel is best known as the star of the Fast & Furious franchise who specializes in wearing white tank tops, mumbling about family and apparently using gravel as mouthwash. The 53 year-old can usually be found sticking rigidly to type, but there are many more strings to his bow than you might think.
As well as being a lifelong Dungeons & Dragons fan, the man born Mark Sinclair is a former breakdancer, owns a record label and video game development company, and got his foot into the industry by writing, directing, producing and starring in his own output, which brought him to the attention of Steven Spielberg, who subsequently cast the young actor in Saving Private Ryan.
Diesel almost exclusively deals in movies that are either part of a franchise or made with the intent of launching one, but a lengthy period of inactivity has seen him stretch his creative wings and the Guardians of the Galaxy star has now unveiled his first single. No, really.
On a recent talk show appearance, he unleashed his masterpiece on an unsuspecting audience and it has to be said, he’s a much better singer that you’d have thought given his signature baritone speaking voice. Produced by Norwegian musician Kygo, “Feel Like I Do” is a surprisingly upbeat track, although some people might find it hard to shake the fact that it’s very clearly an auto-tuned Vin Diesel crooning over the beat.
With Fast & Furious 9 having been delayed by a year, though, maybe he’ll be buoyed by his latest experiment and release a tie-in song for the movie’s end credits like Will Smith used to do on a regular basis.