When The Fast and the Furious filmed, Vin Diesel was 33 years old and best known at the time for his role as Private Adrian Caparzo in Saving Private Ryan and voicing The Iron Giant’s eponymous protagonist. Over two decades later, Diesel has gone on to appear in all of the main Fast & Furious movies aside from 2 Fast 2 Furious, and as of today, he’s now 55 years old. Taking to social media, the actor expressed his gratitude to all the people who helped ring in the big day on the Fast X set.
Fast X has been shooting since late April, and while production got off to a rocky start when director Justin Lin departed just a week after cameras started rolling, things seem to have gone relatively smoothly since Louis Letterier took over helming duties. At the end of the production’s 13th week, the cast and crew took some time out of the day to celebrate Vin Diesel’s 55th birthday, and you can get a taste of how that early celebration looked courtesy of a video the man who brings Dominic Toretto to life shared on Instagram:
As is often the case with commemorating someone reaching another year on this Earth, a cake was prepared for Vin Diesel on the Fast X set, and appropriately, it was Fast & Furious themed. As Vin Diesel showed, not only did the cake (which was surrounded by cupcakes) tie into the Fast & Furious franchise’s love of family by saying “Happy birthday from your familia,” but the X in the Fast X logo was represented through Dominic Toretto’s cross necklace, and there was also a cool car adorning the top lefthand corner. Diesel also joked about getting to bring a nearby car home with him to mark turning the big 5-5… or was it a joke?
It’s fitting that Vin Diesel celebrated his 55th birthday among people who work on Fast X considering how much the Fast & Furious franchise means to him. Sure, Diesel also has blockbuster cred from the MCU and the XXX and Riddick franchises, among his other performing work, but Fast & Furious might as well be his cinematic child, as he not only leads these movies, but also produces them. While the end of this particular ride is coming soon since the main film series will end with Fast & Furious 11 (or Fast X: Part 2, if you prefer), at least Diesel got to be around friendly faces for this special occasion.
Along with Vin Diesel being accompanied by familiar faces like Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, John Cena, Charlize Theron and Scott Eastwood, the Fast X cast also features newcomers like Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson and Rita Moreno. No plot details have been revealed yet, although Gibson did say back in June that the movie would go back to the Fast & Furious franchise’s “roots,” indicating that street racing may be more prominent this time around. Roughly half a year before Fast X’s release, Diesel will be seen in Avatar: The Way of Water playing a yet-to-be-identified character.
Fast X races into theaters on May 19, 2023, and as we wait for more updates on its progress, find out what other movies will arrive next year by looking through our 2023 release schedule.
