Steven Spielberg told Vin Diesel it would be ‘a crime against cinema’ to not direct another film
‘Fast and Furious’ star has not directed a feature film in over two decades
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Steven Spielberg told Vin Diesel that it would be a “crime against cinema” if he did not continue directing.
The Fast and Furious star began his career as a filmmaker, writing and directing the 1995 short Multi-Facial and the 1997 drama Strays. After watching both, Spielberg specifically wrote a character for Diesel to play in his 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.
In an interview with The National, Diesel said: “Speaking of Steven Spielberg, I saw him recently, and he had said to me, ‘When I wrote the role for you in Saving Private Ryan, I was obviously employing the actor, but I was also secretly championing the director in you, and you have not directed enough.’”
The monolithic Jaws filmmaker then supposedly told him: “That is a crime of cinema and you must get back in the directing chair.”
“I haven’t directed enough,” Diesel confessed.
Diesel did return to the director’s chair in 2009, for Los Bandoleros, a short film set in the Fast and Furious universe.
For the past two decades, however, his primary focus has been acting.
Diesel can currently be seen in Bloodshot, with Sony Pictures set to release the film on demand early (24 March) to compensate for the widespread closures of cinemas due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments