Quotes by Vin Diesel

For the 'Riddick' character, I try to get as ruthless as possible, and I want to be a machine.

The positive energy you bring here, makes the world a better place, you know it.

I look formidable.

I can't go white, Indian, Asian, Latin. For me, in my existence, if I'm anything, I'm inclusive of everyone, and we are just one, and I hope that global harmony is in all of us.

I'm not disciplined enough to be a writer consistently. I write when I have to.

I approach 'Fast and Furious 6' the same way I would approach a Sidney Lumet film. Getting into character's getting into character.

I'm a perfectionist. I'm very critical, especially artistically.

When I'm writing, I'm locking myself in a room. I'm the worst critic in the world. I write something and then I beat myself up. I'm like Vin, you're retarded, that makes no sense.

I drive a Yukon Flex Fuel, and there's baby seats in the back.

I would love to do more science fiction. I always envisioned the Riddick franchise as a continuing mythology, so I always imagined that there would be many other films to follow.

Choosing the car you drive is like choosing your wardrobe, maybe even more important.

I grew up the son of an acting teacher, so I was kind of introduced to all of these various methods early... I've never been really good at articulating how, what that process is in the way that Stanislavsky could.

Vin Diesel had to hire a babysitter.

Find your confidence, lead with love... the rest will follow.

If I'm on set and I'm in character, I'm not thinking like a producer. If I'm on set and I'm not in character, wardrobe and make-up, and I'm just coming on set for the moments that I'm not shooting, then I'm able to be the producer.

IT don't matter if you win by an inch or a milewinning is winning!

I'm a boy who appreciates a good body, regardless of the make.

Video games are one step before a whole other virtual universe.

When I was a child actor, I had the fear that I was going to be cast as the tree.

The second I walk onto the set and I know that there's a camera and I know that there's a David Twohy behind that camera, there is zero pressure. There is just me jumping into a pool called 'Riddick.' It's the most free I am. It's like channeling something.

The reality is that I always envisioned the 'Riddick' franchise as a continuing mythology, so I always imagined that there would be many other films to follow.

If Clark Gable had a Facebook page, there would have been a 'Gone with the Wind 2.'

I enjoy playing a quintessential antihero. There's something therapeutic about playing such characters. I know it sounds corny but I feel like I learn about myself when I play that characters.

Riddick is an antihero. He's the quintessential antihero. We all know how much I love antiheroes. It takes you 45 minutes in the movie just for Riddick to understand the word heroism, let alone for anyone to hope that he can be heroic.

Filmmaking is such a collaborative piece of art that you can't look to one person -- you couldn't look to me, you couldn't say, 'Because Vin's in it, it's this or that...' It's really all of us coming together for that period of time to try and make magic.

I always want another actor to shine in my scene because it makes the film stronger. I would encourage people to scene steal, because filmmaking is a collaborative effort.

Of course, I don't act in an extreme fashion in my day to day life. I don't think any of us live do. I think we all have that reserve somewhere and we pull upon it when we need it.

If you believe in the project, you have to support it.

I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free.

The most important thing in life will always be family. The people right here, right now.

They say the open road helps you think. About where you've been and where you're going.

Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. But being a Gentleman is a matter of choice.

In Hollywood, I think I get a bad rap for being a perfectionist. It's something that's not always welcomed in Hollywood, because you're always pushing people and you're pushing yourself to be the best that you can be.

Show me how you drive and I'll show you who you are.

We've come a long way, from where we've been. I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

I think there's something we all relate to about...wanting to get to our most primal self.

I approach every film I do in the same way, whether it's an action film or not an action film. I guess if a certain physicality lends itself to action, but I started acting before I reached puberty. I was 7 years old when I started acting. It wasn't until I became a bouncer in New York.

No matter where you are, whether it's a quarter-mile away or halfway around the world, you'll always be with me and you'll always be my brother.

The majority of the filmmaking process is in pre-production. The more you've planned out the more freedom there is on set to find new stuff, to play around, find new jokes and let the actors kind of breathe -- but it needs to come from a place where it's completely structured.

The thing I'm scared of most is not fulfilling my work. There's so much anxiety around trying to get a movie made that you don't really get to be afraid of anything else.

None of the actor methods ever discussed what it would be like to play a character on film for over a decade, and what it must be like to return to a character and imagine the time off-screen, which is interesting. There's something as an actor that I enjoy about evolving characters.

I act because it's the one time I'm sure of my identity. There's no doubt. It's on paper.

I am truly multi-racial. I never knew my biological father. I've always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.

I've worked out for years. For a long time, it was my only sense of gratification.

I could care less about being an action actor like Stallone or Schwarzenegger.

The one thing I will never do is become pigeonholed.

My mother is the most supportive mother in the world, she's magical.

I grew up in an artists' community in New York, in a building that was government-subsidised for artists. No one made any money, but they made art for the sake of art.

I was the oldest of the children in my family. I had to do a lot of diaper-changing and lunch-making. I was taking my little sister to ballet, picking up my brother, sort of being a super-nanny.

It's like you have a child and you think, 'Everything that I've done up until this point is insignificant in comparison to being a father.' It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

The films that I do are deep, introspective, brooding roles that you're in this heavy headspace all the time.

When you go to the movies with your whole family, it's a different experience. For some reason, it's something that you're all doing together and you take away something special in that.

Career diversification ain't a bad thing.

If you think about my filmography, I have never done a movie that a kid could go see, except for 'Iron Giant,' and I'm not even on the screen.

If it's an amazing role, I'll do anything.

I've turned down twentysomething million dollars for movies.

Most of my confidence came from being with ladies, because I certainly wasn't getting any acting jobs.

I've directed independent film.

I think a few pictures at a time.

My mom used to say that I became a fighter and a scrapper and a tough guy to protect who I am at my core.

I've been auditioning since I was 7 years old.

I always have issues with trust.

I don't think a lot of actors talk about it, but there's usually a process where you essentially purge yourself of the character that you played prior to the movie.

I do practice martial arts, more as a recreational thing, but a lot of my friends have been heavyweight champions the in mixed martial arts world.

When I got on the set of 'Saving Private Ryan,' I discovered, to my amazement, that Steven Spielberg is a gamer.

You make movies for the people. If critics happen to like them too, well, that's a home run.

I used to feel guilty about owning a console.

When your co-stars are 9-month-old babies, you fall in love. You start thinking, When am I going to have my own?

I love thinking about the film, the project and committing myself as much as possible.

It's really bizarre because no one knows this, but elephants have killed more animal trainers than any other animal.

Film is my hobby, so I will work well through the night to develop films, whatever film I'm doing or dream projects I have.

Deal-making goes on with any job.

You get a timeless cool card in New York.

A person in my position has to restrain himself.

The only way anyone knows which girl I'm with is if a one-night stand goes on 'Howard Stern.'

I love women more than anything.

I'm the most ambitious person you ever met.

The idea of exploring character relations and their development over a decade has to be appealing for any actor who cherishes his craft.

Obviously, for me, story is first and foremost, even in the face of the attractive idea of having all the cast there, or having a great piece of talent come to it.

What was bizarre, when I was younger, I never watched TV. I would rather watch a movie 100 times than to watch a TV show, just to find another nuance. I can't tell you how many times I've watched 'On the Waterfront', just to find a flaw so that I can learn and try to improve my thing.

I shaved my head about 15 years ago and the first time I shaved it, I started running my hand through my hair and it was very therapeutic.

I am definitely a person of color.

A transvestite spends her entire life trying to look as feminine as possible and I have clearly spent mine celebrating my masculinity.

I'm not really afraid of the dark, except if I'm walking. The thing that scares me the most is the possibility of walking into a wall and busting my lip.

We all deal with being unfairly judged.

The whole year I was in LA I got into telemarketing and learned how to make money. Five years later that skill helped me make my first film.

My mother gave me this book called Feature Films at Used Car Prices by a guy named Rick Schmidt. I gotta credit the guy, cuz he gave me the most practical advice. It empowers you.

I was walking around with the babies so much that when I got to the Sidney Lumet picture, I would be on set in between takes and I'd be rocking back and forth. Just standing like this rocking back and forth, and Sidney would say, Why are you walking like that in between takes?

The thing that stood out above and beyond all the experiences was this relationship with the nine-month-old baby. On weekends, I'd be thinking about going back to set on Monday just to see the baby.

If you take my performance or my understanding of the role and my appreciation for story and then dress it in CGI, that I guess becomes an action film.

I am flattered that they think that many people would enjoy my work. I don't approach any genre a different way than I may approach another one. I treat every role I do like a role worthy of applying whatever kind of tactic, process and talent I have.

It would be flattering to call it a modern Dirty Harry, but I think this film deals more with the loss of his wife than the traditional revenge vigilante films.

I was a bouncer for ten years in New York City.

When I first did 'The Fast and the Furious', I didn't want there to be a sequel on the first one. I thought, 'Why would you rush to do a sequel -- just because your first film is successful?'

It's hard for me to talk about Dom right now because I am Dom right now. So it's a really strange exercise to try to reflect on something that I am at the moment. But I guarantee you that when I'm done with the movie and you ask me that question, I'll be able to give you something insightful.

You live these three months in this reality, in this dark reality. You don't want to do those films every year because they're taxing. I started smoking a lot of cigarettes.

You break her heart, I'll break your neck.

I have dangerous bones in my body.

Well, love motivates me in everything I do.

My mom insisted on multigrain bread and never allowed soda in the house.

If you had asked me back in grade school what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said my first choice was an actor, but if I couldn't be that, I'd want to be a superhero.

The man who raised me is black. Culturally, he made me who I am. He was a theatre director, so he also guided me artistically.

I grew up with all kinds of people.

My gut feeling about sequels is that they should be premeditated: You should try to write a trilogy first or at least sketch out a trilogy if you have any faith in your film.

You know when something feels so good but you're afraid to feel good about it? So you kinda hold back? Everyone says, Congratulations, you must be so happy. And you say something stupid like, I'm just doing what little I can with what little I have.

The video game culture was an important thing to keep alive in the film because we're in a new era right now. The idea that kids can play video games like Grand Theft Auto or any video game is amazing. The video games are one step before a whole other virtual universe.

It wasn't until I went to college and I got my first motorcycle that I understood the thrill of speed.

It was interesting to do a completely fictional piece. You know, Saving Private Ryan was not a fictional piece! So the challenge was: How do you incorporate real emotions? How do you incorporate aspects that people are going to be able to identify with?

If you're the type of person who has to fulfill your dreams, you've gotta be resourceful to make sure you can do it. I came out to California when I was 21, thinking my New York credentials would take me all the way. I came back home a year later all dejected and a failure.

I haven't had that many weird encounters with fans, thank God.

With age, you get to a place where you don't want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug.

It's insecurity that is always chasing you and standing in the way of your dreams.