# I've got nothing against Vin Diesel. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339 "2005-10-08T19:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/21 "2005-10-09T04:12:00Z")
Hayden Christensen (Anakin for Star Wars II & III) is a very nice, genuine guy – very easy to talk to. I also can’t give enough praise to Anthony Daniels (Threepio) and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar), who are both incredibly nice, caring individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Grandiloquent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2acd7d/32.png) [@Grandiloquent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grandiloquent)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/22 "2005-10-09T04:15:57Z")
I can verify that Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson is a down-to-earth guy. I met him backstage once, and he was courteous and thoughtful. I have heard that Jackie Chan is in the same mold, but I have never met him. David Spade? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/23 "2005-10-09T04:49:59Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > Hayden Christensen (Anakin for Star Wars II & III) is a very nice, genuine guy – very easy to talk to. I also can’t give enough praise to Anthony Daniels (Threepio) and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar), who are both incredibly nice, caring individuals. I met Anthony Daniels, briefly, at a convention in Kansas City, in the mid-eighties. He was one of two celeb guests at the con, the other being George Takei. Myself and three other con attendees won dinner with George, while four others ate with Daniels. I wanted a picture of the folks at our dinner party, so Daniels volunteered to take it. His party was next to ours. Very nice of him. BTW, Takei was wonderful, talked to each of us in turn, made jokes, very good to the fans. By contrast I was, next year, at the same con and again I won, along with two others, dinner with a guest, Jimmy Doohan. He hardly acknowledged us fans, talked mostly about himself to the convention manager, and was generally an off-putting jerk. A big letdown. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/24 "2005-10-09T04:54:43Z")
I’ve met Bruce Campbell, and he is a wonderful guy. Amazingly loyal and grateful to his fans, and very friendly and cool and self-deprecatingly funny. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/25 "2005-10-09T05:40:31Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > By contrast I was, next year, at the same con and again I won, along with two others, dinner with a guest, Jimmy Doohan. He hardly acknowledged us fans, talked mostly about himself to the convention manager, and was generally an off-putting jerk. A big letdown. Really? In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326355) he was pretty well thought of in regard to his fan relations. Maybe that was the convention where he attended despite being sick. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/26 "2005-10-09T05:42:49Z")
> [@Grandiloquent](#): > > I can verify that Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson is a down-to-earth guy. I met him backstage once, and he was courteous and thoughtful. > > I have heard that Jackie Chan is in the same mold, but I have never met him. > > **David Spade? Really?** IIRC, it was a fluff article in a fluff magazine in a doctor’s office a few years back, talking about who’s a jerk and who isn’t in LA-la land, so take it for what it’s worth. I know Spade plays a really good weasel, and has a real snide sense of humor in front of the camera, but I guess that’s why they call it “acting.” My Mom met Joe Pesci on a flight to NY back in the early 80s, didn’t know who he was, saw him on-screen years later and recognized him. Said he kept her in stitches for the whole flight, and was otherwise a perfect gentleman. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/27 "2005-10-09T13:16:31Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > My Mom met Joe Pesci on a flight to NY back in the early 80s, didn’t know who he was, saw him on-screen years later and recognized him. Said he kept her in stitches for the whole flight, and was otherwise a perfect gentleman. He was funny? How was he funny, like a clown? What was so funny about him? What the FUCK was so funny about him? Tell me. Tell me what was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/28 "2005-10-09T13:38:51Z")
> [@BayleDomon](#): > > Really? In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326355) he was pretty well thought of in regard to his fan relations. Maybe that was the convention where he attended despite being sick. No, this was in the mid-eighties. Maybe Doohan was just having a bad day, but I’d always liked Mr. Scott on the show, and meeting him in person was a letdown, as I said. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/29 "2005-10-09T15:11:48Z")
I’ve never met Jessica Alba or know anyone who does, but all the quotes I’ve read of her, and heard from her in the media, make me think, “Hunh. Seems like a nice kid.” Which is probably what they are intended to make me think, but very few actors and actresses succeed in making me think that. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/30 "2005-10-09T15:47:35Z")
Vin Diesel apparently wrote the foreword for [Thirty Years Of Adventure](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786934980/qid=1128872641/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6722857-2135163?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) , a book about AD&D. My opinion of the guy jumped quite a bit after I learned that. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/31 "2005-10-09T16:31:35Z")
Anyone know anything about Gerard Butler? Those Scotsmen usually end up being pretty nice guys, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/32 "2005-10-09T17:54:04Z")
Everybody has good days and bad days. There are probably people who think I’m an ass based on a single meeting. (As opposed to my family, who **know** I’m an ass.) A friend of mine was crew on the movie _The Fugitive_; he said both Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones were nice and down-to-earth. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/33 "2005-10-09T18:05:07Z")
I’ve never watched pro-wrestling, but whenever I see a wrestler on an interview (usually a late-night talk show) I’m always surprised at how nice and down-to-earth they seem. They’re also pretty articulate – they’ve usually written a book or something. They come across as much brighter and nicer than most other sports celebrities you see on TV. I’ve also had the impression that Jessica Alba is actually very sweet. Hope she stays that way. I wouldn’t trust David Spade even if I met him and he was acting nice to me – call it instinct after growing up seeing him in too many snarky, knife-in-the-back roles. What’s-his-name who played Frodo (major blank!) always seems very nice in interviews. Somewhat surprisingly, so does Jack Black. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/34 "2005-10-09T18:56:40Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > What’s-his-name who played Frodo (major blank!) always seems very nice in interviews. Elijah Wood. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339/35 "2005-10-09T20:22:06Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > … They’re also pretty articulate – they’ve usually written a book or something. They come across as much brighter and nicer than most other sports celebrities you see on TV. > … Agreed. It usually comes as kind of a shock to me that this is so in my experience. Versus some, like pro football players who went to college and can’t seem to say anything other than “Uh, You know, uh, uh, you know, uh, you know…” I seriously wonder how many of these dumb-asses **graduated** from college. Yeah, I am not into ‘wrasslin’ but those athletes sure seem to be much more articulate than their more ‘respectable’ cousins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-nothing-against-vin-diesel/325339.md?page=1)