Fast and Furious is one of the most successful film franchises. Vin Diesel has played the character of Dominic Toretto aka Dom the central character of the series. In the recent instalment of the series, John Cena appears as Dominic Toretto’s brother, Jakob Toretto. The casting of John Cena as his brother, Diesel believes has something to do with the late Paul Walkner, who played the role of Brian O’Connor in the series alongside Vin Diesel, up until his death in 2013. He mentioned this ‘strange feeling/ magical moment’ he felt when he met John Cena who was auditioning for the role while he was promoting the latest instalment of the series.
“Now the idea of the brother worked great on paper, but when the time came to cast it, anxiety. Who could you cast to be Dom’s brother and 20 years into the game?” the actor who has been playing the role of Dom for over 20 years said on the Kelly Clarkson show.
But this anxiety went away once the former WWE star entered the scene. “And he comes into the shrine one morning,”…And I had this strange feeling that Paul Walker had sent him,” said Diesel recalling the incident.
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, whom the former calls ‘Pablo‘, worked together in the action movie franchise until he died of an unexpected car accident (while he was in the car with his friend, on the way to a charity event outside L.A) in Southern California when he was 40 years old. The two were obviously close, Diesel even named his daughter Pauline after Paul Walker.
Even after the death of his co-star, he is in contact with Walkner’s family, so much that Meadow, Walkner’s daughter who is now 22 years old is his goddaughter, she also considers him her family. Diesel has always paid tribute to the late actor and even said in an interview that every Fast and Furious movie will be a tribute to the actor.
Ahead of the premiere of F9, Walker’s daughter had sent him a picture of him with her father.IN the actor’s words the image filled him with” emotion, purpose and ultimately gratitude.”
“Eternal brotherhood is a blessing beyond words,”. These words are enough to make one understand the deep bond the two shared and thus validating the magical feeling Diesel felt when he saw Cena auditioning for the role of his brother. Six days ago the actor took to his Instagram page to post a picture of him and Paul Walkner with the caption, ” On my way to the premiere… you will be there in spirit.”
The Fast and Furious is an action movie franchise. The first instalment was released in the year 2001. The movie is mainly focused on illegal racing, heists, and spies. The latest instalment of the successful franchise was supposed to be released last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will be released on June 25 i.e. today. This movie will also be a tribute to Paul Walkner.