Mark Vincent, born in New York, on July 18th 1967. Was raised with his twin brother Paul, and two sisters, by his astrologer and psychologist mother, and stepfather, a teacher and theater director. Mark grew up in New York's Greenwich Village. Mark never knew his biological father. But began early following in his stepfather and mentor's footsteps.

His carreer began almost comically, when at the age of seven, he and his friends decided to break into Theatre to vandalize. But were caught almost immediately by a woman working late. Luckily, she gave them each a script and $20, instead of calling the police, but on the condition that they show up after school every day. From there, Vin's fledgling career progressed from the New York repertory company run by his Stepfather, to the Off-Broadway circuit.

Mark continued to work in theatre throughout his childhood. He wanted to quit high school for his dreams of becoming a hollywood actor. However, on the advice of his father, he changed subjects and decided to finish his studies. At 17 has already sporting a well-honed physique, he became a bouncer at some of New York's clubs. It was at this time that he changed his name to 'Vin Diesel'.

After high school, he enrolled at Hunter College, where he majored in English with a concentration on creative writing. After three years at college, he made the decision to leave college, feeling the need to make his own film. He headed out to Los Angeles with the belief that being a theatre actor immersed in his art would be valued. Being an experienced theatre actor did not make any impression in LA. After a year of struggling to make his mark, he took a job telemarketing. After much success at telemarketing, selling tools, he began to recognise that greed was overtaking him, driving him to be a moneymaker, Mark decided to return to New york. He worked again as bouncer, and began to create his own short.
His mother then gave him a book called "Feature Films at Used Car Prices". The book showed him that he could take control of his career and make his own movies. He began writing the script for his first feature, Strays, but after a year of being unable to finance the project. He wrote a short film based on his own experiences as an actor, called Multi-Facial (1994), which was shot in less than three days at a cost of $3,000. Multi-Facial (1994) was eventually accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it got a tumultuous reception.

Afterwards, Vin returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through telemarketing to fund the making of his first feature, Strays (1997). Six months after shooting, the film was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and although it received a good reception, it didn't sell as well as hoped. Yet again Vin returned disappointed to New York only to receive a dream phone call. Steven Spielberg was impressed by Multi-Facial (1994) and wanted to meet Vin, leading him to be cast in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Multi-Facial (1994) earned Vin more work, when the director of Iron Giant, The (1999) saw it and decided to cast Vin in the title role. From there, Vin's career has steadily grown, with him securing his first lead role as 'Richard B Riddick' in the sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000). That role has earned him a legion of devoted fans and the public recognition he deserves.

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More Information on Vin Diesel
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He worked as a bouncer in New York.

Has a non-identical twin brother, Paul Vincent (IV), who is a film editor.

Has an Italina Mastiff named "Roman".

Mother is an astrologer.

Has 2 sisters

Ranked #46 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #95 in 2002.

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

"I would get into fights with other bouncers when a guy was already on the floor and the other guys thought it was alright to jump up in the air and land on the guy's head."

"I was being offered three franchises at the same time - Pitch Black, XXX, and The Fast and the Furious - and I had to choose. I couldn't do all three." - on why he didn't do the Fast and the Furious sequel

"This isn't a poster. This is a declaration of war!" -Re: the XXX poster and what it means for his career

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Salary
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Riddick (2004) $11,000,000
XXX (2002) $10,000,000
Fast and the Furious, The (2001) $2,500,000
Saving Private Ryan (1998) $100,000