Vin Diesel Failed The Audition For His Breakout Role
Vin Diesel was so bad when auditioning for Pitch Black that he was passed over for Steven Segal.
Even big stars like Hugh Jackman and Vin Diesel used to have to audition for roles, and those auditions didn’t always go great. In fact, Diesel’s audition for his breakout role in Pitch Black was so average that he almost got passed over. Fortunately, director David Twohy stepped in and fought to make sure Diesel was the one to lead his movie.
/Film reported on an interview Twohy did with Yahoo!, where he said, “He read in the room and he wasn’t great, because that is not his gift — reading in a room, off a page.” Twohy said that Vin Diesel is better at inhabiting a role when he has time with it. He talked about how Diesel bounced back saying “by the time we brought back our lead candidates, Vin was off-book and you could tell he was the right choice at that point.”
So, if Vin Diesel wasn’t going to play Richard B. Riddick in Pitch Black, then who would have replaced him? Apparently, the studio was trying to push Steven Seagal. However, Twohy threatened to leave the film if Seagal was the star, saving us all from Pitch Black starring Steven Seagal.
The rest is history — Vin Diesel was obviously the right guy for the role, and Pitch Black really helped to launch him as one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars. Pitch Black came out in 2000, and The Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, and we all know how big that ended up being. Over two decades later, we’re getting Fast X which will be the first of a two-part ending for the long-running film franchise.
Vin Diesel will once again return as Dominic Toretto in Fast X, which is directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Justin Lin with Dan Mazeau. Fast X will see many familiar faces return, including Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Cardi B, and Charlize Theron. New cast members include Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Rita Moreno, Brie Larson, and Jason Momoa.
Vin Diesel will also be wrapping up another franchise when he returns to voice Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also be the last Marvel hurrah for director James Gunn, who is now leading the charge over at the DCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also be bringing back Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also see the first MCU appearance of Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock along with Chukwudi Iwuji’s villainous High Evolutionary. While many of the Guardians actors are planning on ending their MCU tenure after this film, there’s always a chance we could see Vin Diesel come back as Groot in an Avengers movie or another MCU project. You can see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when it hits theaters on May 5.
If you want to see Fast X, you can go see it a couple of weeks after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when it hits theaters on May 19. You can also watch the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+. If you want to revisit Vin Diesel’s breakout role in Pitch Black, you can stream it on Peacock.
