The Chronicles of Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair[1] or Mark Sinclair Vincent; July 18, 1967) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He came to prominence in the late 1990s and became best known for appearing in several successful Hollywood films such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Pitch Black (2000), The Fast and the Furious (2001), xXx (2002), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), and Fast & Furious 6 (2013). He is also the founder of the production companies One Race Films, Tigon Studios, and Racetrack Records.

Diesel was born in New York City. His mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair) Vincent, is an astrologer.[2][3] Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity", with his background including Scottish, Italian, and "a lot of stuff";[4][5] and that he is "definitely a person of colour".[6] Diesel has never met his biological father, and has said, "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures".[6] Diesel was raised by his caucasian mother and African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.[6][7][8] He made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother, and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who, instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.[9][10][11]
He remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. Diesel became an active film-maker in the early 1990s, first earning notice for the short film Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. Diesel has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor[12] as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his mixed heritage.[12][13] In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he said that he changed his name to "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at the New York City nightclub Tunnel, because in that business one's real name is not usually given out. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.

Vin Diesel[vindiesel.com]