Mark Sinclair born July 18, , known professionally as Vin Diesel , is an American actor and film producer. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial and his debut feature Strays He came to prominence in the late s, and first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg 's Saving Private Ryan in He followed up with commercially successful films such as Boiler Room and The Pacifier He founded the production company One Race Films , where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles.
Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios , providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.
Diesel was born Mark Sinclair [ 1 ] on July 18, , [ 2 ] in Alameda County, California , [ 3 ] where his mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.
Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door , written by Barbara Garson. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police.
He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor. Sinclair began going by his stage name "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel , wanting a tougher sounding name for his occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic. Diesel's first film role was as an uncredited extra in the drama film Awakenings in After several years of struggle to gain acting roles, Diesel decided to make his own short film to secure funds for his feature film debut.
