Vin Diesel is best known for portraying Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, making him one of the highest-grossing actors globally. Although Dominic Toretto is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, the exact ethnicity of the actor who portrays him remains a mystery.
Born as Mark Sinclair, the movie mogul’s mother has Scottish, English, Irish and German ancestry. Though he is supposed to have African-American heritage, he doesn’t know much about his biological father. Even his mother isn’t sure about his dad’s complete ethnic background.
The Guardians of the Galaxy actor has also acknowledged the historical context of his parents’ relationship—which was considered illegal in certain US states at the time of his birth.
Vin Diesel Reveals His Parents’ Relationship Would’ve Been Illegal in US
Born in Greenwich Village in 1967, Vin Diesel and his twin brother Paul were raised by their white mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent (née Sinclair), who was an astrologer and his African-American stepfather, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.
Their biological father was absent, and they don’t know much about him except that their parents’ relationship would have been illegal in some US states due to anti-miscegenation laws (via The Guardian)
The former wrestler’s dreams of a future where discrimination is just a small blip in history. He points out in an interview with The Guardian that the concept of race is relatively new:
“Race is a new word, relatively. It’s like 100 years old. It’s something that kinda just fed the Californian eugenics movement.”
Previously he has revealed (via IMDb) that “all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.” The Feel Like I Do singer also said:
“I’m definitely a person of color. I never met my biological father; the man who raised me was a black man, and he made me who I am and taught me who I am.”
But earlier, at times, the California native has felt that his diverse background held him back in his career. In fact, he made a short film, Multi-Facial (1995), about his “unclear ethnicity” and how it affected his success in Hollywood.
In the film, Diesel played an actor who struggles to find work because directors and producers couldn’t figure out how to cast him, as he doesn’t fit into typical roles. The movie highlights how casting in Hollywood often sticks to stereotypes.
Why Did Vin Diesel Change His Name?
Vin Diesel told host Conan O’Brien on a 2006 episode of Late Night that he changed his name because of his job as a bouncer in New York City. Diesel explained that being a bouncer was risky, and that’s why so many used fake names for safety:
“In New York, when you’re a bouncer, the last thing you do is tell everybody your real name because of all the problems. The other bouncers started calling me Vin Diesel — and it stuck.”
The actor and producer, whose birth name is Mark Sinclair, changed his name for professional reasons. He adopted the stage name ‘Vin Diesel’ early in his acting career (as mentioned).
The name ‘Vin’ came from his stepfather, while ‘Diesel’ was a nickname given to him by his friends because of his energetic personality.
