Celebrity News March 24, 2015
'Furious 7' Star Vin Diesel Recalls His Favorite Memory of Paul Walker
The cast of the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise is a family, and it's making promotion of their latest film, “Furious 7,” difficult without Paul Walker.
Vin Diesel, who revealed on the “Today” show that he named his newborn daughter Pauline in honor of Walker, still gets emotional talking about his friend.
Diesel sat down with “Extra's” Charissa Thompson, explaining, “It's obviously been an emotional one, unlike any other film I've had to complete or had to talk about or do press with, yet, at the same time, there's so much pride in the fact that we did it and honored him in the way we did… I've never talked about a 'Fast and Furious' without Pablo by my side, it makes this experience unique and at the same time it makes this experience all that much more important.”
Vin and Paul experienced a lot together over their fifteen years of friendship. Vin calls Paul not only his best friend, but his brother, and shared one of his favorite memories. “We were filming 'Fast and Furious,' the fourth chapter… we were hanging out and talking about how we finished shooting in Mexico. We're drinking beers and next thing you know, I get clotheslined into the pool, I have to say it brought me back to being a kid and brought me back to my own siblings and the fun we used to have together and we were just cracking up in the pool.”
Walker's own brothers Caleb and Cody stepped in to help finish shooting Paul's role in the "Fast & Furious 7" action sequences. Vin called having them on set “empowering.” “What it did more than anything was said the family validated what we were doing and just seeing them there, wanting to protect the legacy of someone they care so much about was an empowering feeling and they were just so generous and unrelenting in wanting to help and do anything to help us finish this legacy and complete this task that we had. That was the most important thing ever for us.”
Honoring and remembering Paul was important for the whole cast of “Furious 7.” Hear what Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris, Jason Statham and Tyrese had to say:
Fans can see the latest “Fast and Furious” in theaters April 3, and experience Universal Studios Hollywood's new thrill ride, "Fast & Furious — Supercharged” on June 25.
“Fast & Furious — Supercharged” will catapult guests into the high-stakes underground world of fast cars in a harrowing escapade — at perceived speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour — to save one of their own from an international crime cartel.
Watch this behind-the-scenes video to learn more!