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Vin Diesel's life - secret real name, whopping £188m fortune and Dwayne Johnson feud
READ MORE: Vin Diesel shares tribute to Paul Walker as he walks actor's daughter down the aisleThe actor rose to fame starring alongside Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in Spielberg's 1998 war epic Saving Private Ryan.He has since starred in a number of film franchises including Guardians of the Galaxy, The xXx movies and Fast & Furious.As Vin turns 55 years old, Daily Star takes a look inside his fascinating life.Vin Diesel has gone by a variety of different names over the years.His famous characters have included Fast & Furious' Dom Toretto, ruthless operative Xander Cage and the loveable Groot from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.While growing up, Vin had yet another title - his birth name, Mark Sinclair.The actor decided to change the moniker in his late teenage years, deriving 'Vin' from his step-father Irving Vincent's last name.'Diesel' was the nickname which he was referred to as by his friends for having a lot of energy.As an aspiring actor in the eighties and nineties, Vin struggled to land his big break.After impressing movie buffs at Sundance with his self-funded and directed short film Multi-Facial, Vin also gained a fan in the form of Hollywood heavyweight Stephen Spielberg and finally struck gold.While working as a telemarketer, Vin was contacted by the Jaws director in 1997 and cast as Private Adrian Caparzo in Saving Private Ryan.The rest, as they say, is history.Vin was romantically linked to his long-time Fast & Furious collaborator Michelle Rodriguez in the early days of the franchise.The co-stars both appeared in the original Fast & Furious film in 2001 and are reported to have hit it off on-set.Their romance was ultimately short-lived but Vin and Michelle remained firm friends, working together on a
