Mark Sinclair , known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Born in California, Diesel attended Newyork's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial and his debut feature Strays . He came to prominence in the late 1990s, and first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan in 1998. He followed up with commercially successful films such as Boiler Room , The Pacifier and Find Me Guilty . He gained stardom as a leading action star headlining numerous franchises, including Fast & Furious, XXX, and The Chronicles of Riddick.

His voice acting work includes The Iron Giant , the video games The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and the voices of Groot I and Groot II in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ; he portrayed the characters in six superhero films, beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy . Diesel has reprised his role as Groot for the Disney plus animated shorts series I Am Groot , the television special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special , and the animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet .

He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.

Diesel was born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California, where his mother was also born, though later moved to New York City with his fraternal twin brother, Paul. His mother, Delora Sherleen Vincent , is an astrologer. He was raised by his white mother and adoptive African-American father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theater manager.Diesel has stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity."His mother has Scottish roots.He has never met his biological father, and has said that "all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures"; Diesel believes that his parents' relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws.

Diesel made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother and some friends had broken into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who offered them roles in the upcoming show instead of calling the police. Diesel remained involved with the theater throughout adolescence, going on to attend NYC's Hunter College, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor.

Sinclair began going by his stage name "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at the New York nightclub Tunnel, wanting a tougher sounding name for his occupation. Vin comes from his mother's married last name Vincent, while the surname Diesel came from his friends due to his tendency to be energetic.