# Seriously... is Vin Diesel any good as an actor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974 "2008-08-06T00:54:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/1 "2008-08-06T00:54:15Z")
I just saw the commercial for Babylon AD and I felt strangely interested in it in a “this looks like a mildly intriguing summer action movie with a twist” sort of way. I might put it on my Netflix queue. However, I have this prejudice in my mind that Vin Diesel sucks as an actor and therefore no movie featuring him could be good, like Steven Seagal. Someone once described him as “if Elmer Fudd and Sylvester Stallone had a baby,” and that has colored my view of him. Then I looked him up and realized that the only movie with him in it I’d ever actually seen was Saving Private Ryan and I don’t even remember him being in it. He’s starring in an upcoming movie about Hannibal of Carthage, if you can imagine. So, is Vin Diesel any good as an actor or what? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/2 "2008-08-06T01:01:18Z")
I think he’s ok. Outside of Saving Private Ryan, he just hasn’t been in anything that would truly test his abilities, but I feel he held up his own next to the likes of Ribisi, Hanks, and the others (He was the soldier that was shot by the sniper and tried to pass them a note to his father, btw). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/3 "2008-08-06T01:03:44Z")
He seems competent enough for action movies. I only vaguely remember him from _Saving Private Ryan_, and I haven’t seen any of his other “serious” roles, but the few shoot-'em-up flicks I’ve seen him in, he’s done well enough for the material. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/4 "2008-08-06T01:06:45Z")
Diesel was pretty good in _Boiler Room_, which wasn’t an action movie but had similarly high (if not excessive) testerone levels. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/5 "2008-08-06T01:09:35Z")
Apparently he is also directing the Hannibal movie. Also, his real name is Mark Sinclair Vincent. Vin Diesel has to be the most overtly macho name I’ve ever heard, which probably hasn’t helped my opinion of him. Maybe I should give him a chance. How is Chronicles of Riddick? ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/6 "2008-08-06T01:15:36Z")
He did some very compelling voice work in _The Iron Giant_ and he made _Pitch Black_ more interesting than it would otherwise have been. However, he doesn’t seem to have a knack for getting cast in very good projects. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/7 "2008-08-06T01:15:38Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] Apparently he is also directing the Hannibal movie. Also, his real name is Mark Sinclair Vincent. Vin Diesel has to be the most overtly macho name I’ve ever heard, which probably hasn’t helped my opinion of him. [/quote] Worse than Wolf Blitzer? > [@](#): > > How is Chronicles of Riddick? Enjoyably stupid. It’s got the overblown grandiosity of David Lynch’s _Dune_, but there’s no source material to give it depth by association. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/8 "2008-08-06T01:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Diesel was pretty good in _Boiler Room_, which wasn’t an action movie but had similarly high (if not excessive) testerone levels. [/QUOTE] also staring Ribisi. Knockaround Guys was alright I suppose. Maybe he’s only good in movies costaring someone else from Private Ryan (Barry Pepper in Knockaround Guys)? Actually, he wasn’t terrible in Find Me Guilty. > [@Rubystreak](#): > > How is Chronicles of Riddick? Disappointing. Because I kind of like the Riddick character. Although it must have been tough trying to pick one movie to make a franchise out of from XXX, Fast and the Furious and Pitch Black. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/9 "2008-08-06T01:24:10Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] Vin Diesel has to be the most overtly macho name I’ve ever heard, which probably hasn’t helped my opinion of him. [/QUOTE] I just saw the preview for his newest film coming out. Compared to Vin Diesel, Christian Bale in The Dark Knight sounds like a little girl. What is it with this super-stupid-macho-man-growl-roar that seems to be popular again? I thought Sylvester Stallone single-handedly killed that phony studly voice ages ago. Do people really think it is sexy to talk like your testicles are stuffed in the back of your boots? ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/10 "2008-08-06T01:32:45Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] How is Chronicles of Riddick? [/QUOTE] I like _Pitch Black_ very much. \*Chronicles \*isn’t as good, but I enjoyed it because I like the Riddick character. I like Vin Diesel himself well enough to watch \*XXX \*and _Fast_, which aren’t really my kind of movie. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/11 "2008-08-06T01:34:52Z")
[QUOTE=Tijuana\_Golds] I think he’s ok. Outside of Saving Private Ryan, he just hasn’t been in anything that would truly test his abilities [/QUOTE] What about [Find Me Guilty](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419749/)? I haven’t seen the movie, but judging from the [trailer](http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/findmeguilty/) and some reviews it seems he had a lot to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/12 "2008-08-06T01:35:08Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Worse than Wolf Blitzer? [/QUOTE] Ha! Yeah, a little worse than that, but maybe, upon consideration, not quite as bad as Dick Armey. I kind of like his voice. Next time I see Pitch Black on cable, I’ll watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/13 "2008-08-06T01:39:19Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Disappointing. Because I kind of like the Riddick character. Although it must have been tough trying to pick one movie to make a franchise out of from XXX, Fast and the Furious and Pitch Black. [/QUOTE] Vin Diesel had the right kind of charisma for Riddick in Pitch Black. And I the woman who runs the video store near me, and who has very discriminating tastes and insanely detailed film history knowledge, found his performance in something “unexpectedly good”. Sadly, I don’t remember the flick she’s referring to, although it _might_ have been _Find Me Guilty_. I remember her saying it wasn’t your standard Vin Diesel action schtick. So, she’s of the opinion that his macho persona is really limiting his career and that he may actually have decent acting chops that we’ll never really get to see. I haven’t see him in a serious role other than _Boiler Room_ so I can’t support her opinion of him, but I usually trust this woman’s judgement. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Batman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@The\_Batman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Batman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/14 "2008-08-06T01:40:57Z")
[QUOTE= jovan] What about Find Me Guilty? I haven’t seen the movie, but judging from the trailer and some reviews it seems he had a lot to work with. [/QUOTE] I completely forgot about that one. I haven’t seen it either but I’ve heard it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/15 "2008-08-06T01:51:12Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] What about [Find Me Guilty](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419749/)? I haven’t seen the movie, but judging from the [trailer](http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/findmeguilty/) and some reviews it seems he had a lot to work with. [/QUOTE] I heard he was almost unrecognizable in that role, as a low level mobster trying to protect his bosses… ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/16 "2008-08-06T01:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Number] He did some very compelling voice work in _The Iron Giant_ and he made _Pitch Black_ more interesting than it would otherwise have been. However, he doesn’t seem to have a knack for getting cast in very good projects. [/QUOTE] The Pacifier is a classic of modern cinema… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/17 "2008-08-06T02:19:38Z")
_Boiler Room_, definitely. And even in the resolutely stupid _XxX_, he had moments of vulnerability that made the role enjoyable. “Hey, I’m a really good dancer!” ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/18 "2008-08-06T02:26:18Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] What about [Find Me Guilty](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419749/)? I haven’t seen the movie, but judging from the [trailer](http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/findmeguilty/) and some reviews it seems he had a lot to work with. [/QUOTE] He was actually quite good in it. He wasn’t spectacular but he showed he certainly has some range as an actor. It’s a good flick. Folks should check it out before dismissing Diesel. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/19 "2008-08-06T03:18:51Z")
I find _xXx_ (and yes, I’ll capitalize it that way, it tickles me) to be a really entertaining action flick, especially when Diesel gets to act smart. _Chronicles of Riddick_ was pretty good too, although I haven’t seen _Pitch Black_ or any of his other movies. I get the impression Vin Diesel is much, much smarter than he looks or sounds, even if his acting skills aren’t amazing. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974/20 "2008-08-06T04:43:41Z")
“Vin Diesel” was an alias he used while working as a nightclub bouncer. Most bouncers use phony names, and they’re sort of expected to use macho sounding names in that job. In interviews, he comes across more as a likable, goofy nerd than as a tough guy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-is-vin-diesel-any-good-as-an-actor/458974.md?page=2)