Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVIII

1 4 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Q: Presumably you’re changed from the experience DIESEL: [nodding] It was so important to learn, when we deal with death, our appreciation for life is represented in so many ways. We appreciate everything that’s alive, the very trees in our backyard, the sunlight. The air we breathe. I now appreciate it all. It makes this a very real, therapeutic thing to do. Q: Can you believe we’re talking about the seventh film in the franchise? $2.3billion at the box office? Pretty unbelievable. DIESEL:Nobodywouldeverhavepredicteditwouldgothisfar,butitisincrediblycool toseehowfarwe’vecomewithit.Howfardowntheroadwe’vecome.Everytimewe’ve released a Fast movie, every time, I’ve been stubborn and bull-headed on talking about themovie but alsobuilding it into a very clear tag. Q: A tag? DIESEL: A tag to the next film. Each ‘Fast’ always ends with an unfinished scene, an unanswered question. Something that hasn’t been sewn up. And as regards the success, there’s a combinatory, layered element. The sense of family and identity, the magnificent choreography. The breathtaking architecture of the scenes and action. And you know, for me, I love Dom. I love him more than ever, and everything about these movies. Q: Did you ever concern yourself that the franchise was getting worn out? DIESEL: Before we started working on the sixth movie, my one concern was, it had to be plausible, or as plausible as a Fast and the Furious movie can be. And it’s the same for this one. I wasn’t coming on board unless I was sure the script would do justice to the franchise. But we’ve done the franchise well, we’ve looked after it. Hence why it’s been so successful. Because we’re family, that’s what it's about. Q: It’s also about the cars. DIESEL: They form a certain portion of the films, yes [laughs]. Q: Tell us about some of the cars in 7 and which you had your eye on for yourself. DIESEL: All of them [laughs]. I’m saturated by these magnificent sights. Let me think. There was a beautiful Bugatti, a Veyron that Tyrese drives and it’s is an absolute beast, a beautiful beast. An Aston Martin in there, an E46. A MP4 12C, I believe it was silver, although there was a black model used also. That really caught my eye. I’m stuck here, let me think... We went old school, old school with a Dodge Viper SRT-10, which had this purr that turned into a roar. Michelle drove that more than I did. I spent most of my time behind the wheel of a Charger V8 which is a demon and has this insane horsepower. Q: Which was your favourite? DIESEL: Probably the V8, simply because it’s Dominic’s signature, they’re synonymous together. They gel and mesh. Q: What cars do you own? DIESEL: Too many for my accountant to be happy about [laughs]. They’re ever changing, I love my cars. I think the car you choose is just as important as the clothes you wear. Probably more important. I have a couple of Ferraris, a z28 Camaro, although I seem to spend most of my time in family-friendly cars these days with the kids. When you have kids and it becomes about them. Q: Muscle cars, sports cars or classics – which do you prefer? DIESEL: I’mprobably mini-van or Prius now [laughs]. Between those, it would be muscle car territory, pretty much like the ones Domdrives in the movies. And I’m pretty unchanging there. I think there’s never really been a deviation from that kind of 70s Dodge Charger, kind of dumb cars, so to speak. Q: Do you do all your own car stunts? DIESEL: I do more stunts than I should do. I used to want to do everything, but once you become a father you think about it a little bit more before you try and kill yourself. I try to impose limits, I do, I tried to be more responsible. But I still end up coming home thinking, “Why on earth did I just do that?” No one in their right mind would ever do what I just did. What smart guy would allow fireballs to be fired at him? What smart guy would consider this? But I had a re- education at car school, too, to be able to do a 360 right into the camera, and that’s the stuff you need to practice, flying towards the camera and doing a 90 degree turn without wiping out the whole crew. I have a problem though. Couple of problems. The first problem is some of the people I work with, around the beginning of the process, forget that I’m simply an actor, and they really begin to believe that I’m happy and willing to do these very dangerous things. If you say, “Hey Vin, will you do this?”, I’mnot going to say no. My biggest fault, when I hear the word ‘action’, I no longer care and you see it in the work. The second I hear ‘action’, I can do anything. I think I’m Superman. But that’s the added danger of these films that I thrive on. Although I’m potentially getting a little old for this type of action now. Not that I’ll ever freely admit that. Q: Another film success for you, Guardians of the Galaxy – who saw that coming? Highest grossing film of 2014. DIESEL: And all I had were three words, over and over. “I am Groot” [laughs]. My kids love Groot and Rocket, my little son goes around imitating him. They love it so much. Q: Seems like your family was a big decision in taking this film. DIESEL: My kids, especially my boy, made the decision for me. When [head of Marvel Studios] Kevin Feige called me, he called it the strangest character he’s ever put on screen. And then he sent over a book of conceptual art, and I remember someone inmy office was like, “What are you going to play a tree for?” But then I showed my children the art, opened it up to a page with all the characters, and I askedmy son, “Which one shouldDaddy play?” And he pointed to the tree. And jump cut to him seeing the movie with me a year later. After it, we were driving home andmy son saw lots of trees outside the windows and said, “Daddy, look, it’s your brothers and sisters”. There’s something profound about playing a character who’s nature’s ambassador. And there’s something timely about it too. Q: You’re expecting another child and seem like the devoted familyman. You’ve always kept the announcement of your children’s births close to your chest, but then you speak so warmly of them. DIESEL: Being famous, every decision I make, I have to hide a lot. I spend a lot of time in the shadows. I can’t just celebrate the fact that I’ve had a kid without the press coming to try and ruin the moment. I’mmindful of that, the paparazzi. So I’ll keep it a secret for a while, it feels like the right thing to do. Q: Do you like being famous? DIESEL: It was tough to give up anonymity – you don’t realise how difficult it’s going to be when you’re chasing your dream; you don’t realise how important it is to your life. You can’t go to a store, you can’t go out by yourself and raise your face to the sun. Q: You’re certainly rather less foreboding in person. DIESEL: I’m a tough guy, as my mother would say. My mother thinks I became formidable to protect my sensitive side. I wouldn’t be able to be an artist without my tough guy side.