Vin Diesel Gives Tribute To Paul Walker After Receiving Award For ‘Fast And Furious’
“Fate of the Furious” is a success. In fact, “Fast and Furious” received yet another award at the recently concluded MTV Movie & TV awards, and Vin Diesel did not forget to honor his late pal and co-star Paul Walker.
During his acceptance speech, Diesel recalled the time he and Walker received the award for best duo. “In 2002, I was standing on this stage and MTV had given Paul Walker and I an award for best duo,” said the actor in his speech, as quoted by People. “And now, 15 years later, I’m with my whole family and you’ve given us the Generation Award. Pablo, we hope you’re proud.”
The “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” star was joined by his other “Fast and Furious” co-stars, namely Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordan Brewster. Before Diesel’s speech, a video montage of the popular movie franchise with Walker’s best moments was played on the screen for the crowd.
Previously, Diesel told SiriusXM (via People) that there wasn’t a day, scene or a second when Walker was not with him in the making of the movie. For him, the loss was still difficult to cope with. In fact, it came to a point where he started asking himself, “What’s life like? What’s living like without Paul? ”
Aside from honoring his late co-star and friend, Diesel did not forget to extend his gratitude to their fans who have been supportive of the film. He mentioned that the franchise would not have spawned eight installments had the public not been eager to see more of their story. “I gotta thank a generation that was willing to accept this multicultural franchise, where it didn’t matter what color your skin was or what country you were from,” Diesel added. “When you’re family, you’re family.”
Diesel and Walker share a deep friendship. In fact, the pair was like brothers. When the “Into the Blue” star died in a car crash, the “Furious 7” immediately flew from Atlanta to meet Walker’s mom. Diesel apologized for her loss, but she also apologized to the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star who lost his best friend. “For his mother to say to me ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ — I said, ‘Why? Why are you saying sorry to me?’ And she said, ‘Because you lost your other half,’” Diesel revealed.
The star added that he did not recognize the profound loss immediately and admitted that just like most people, he was also guilty of not telling the people around him how much he loves them.
Diesel giving tribute to Walker during his emotional speeches whenever he receives awards for “Fast and Furious” is not the only way he has expressed how much he misses his buddy. The “Last Witch Hunter” star also named his daughter Pauline after his late pal. “I named her Pauline,” Diesel told Natalie Morales, as quoted by Today.
He added that he felt Walker’s presence in the room when his daughter was delivered. “He was in the room. There’s no other person that I was thinking about as I was cutting this umbilical cord. I just ... knew he was there.”
It seemed that Diesel took this scene in “Fate of the Furious.” In the film, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) learned that he had a son with his ex, Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky). He also named his child Brian as tribute to Walker’s character in the franchise, Brian O’Connor.
How do you feel about Diesel offering a tribute to Walker whenever he gets the chance? Drop a comment below.
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