Eiza Gonzalez wouldn’t take Hobbs & Shaw role without Vin Diesel’s blessing

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The ensemble cast of the FAST & FURIOUS saga has grown quite large over the nearly twenty year history of the series, but Vin Diesel is undoubtedly still the face of the franchise. We saw the release of the first FAST & FURIOUS spin-off last year, HOBBS & SHAW, a film which starred Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw. Diesel and Johnson famously had a bit of a falling out during the production of THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, which could have made things a little awkward for the other actors appearing in the film, one of whom was Eiza Gonzalez.

Eiza Gonzalez took the time to speak with THR regarding the recently released BLOODSHOT, but was also asked whether or not it was true that she wouldn't accept the role in HOBBS & SHAW without first getting the blessing of Vin Diesel.

Yeah, it’s true. It is his franchise, and it’s something that was his. He technically wasn’t part of it, in a sense, because he’s not in the movie. I just wanted to make sure that he was happy. At the time, my manager, Nicole King, and his manager, Stacy O’Neil, who are now working together actually, had talked about it. I said, “I just want to make sure that Vin feels right about it,” and he was really happy. At the end of the day, Vin is a very selfless human being, and he knows that he opened the door for all these people to expand. That’s kind of the power that he has. This franchise wouldn’t exist without him. So, it was really great, and he was so excited.

"The exciting thing for him was that I’m part of the Fast franchise," Gonzalez continued. "As we’ve seen, there’s 145 versions of these movies, and they all intertwine. They’re the Avengers of cars in a way. So, I’m just excited to be part of it. He wants to see me grow, and he said, 'I just want to see you succeed. I know this will be a huge success with you.' He was just wonderful." The actress played Madame M in HOBBS & SHAW, a high-profile thief, friend, and former lover of Deckard.

Eiza Gonzalez can currently be seen on the big-screen in BLOODSHOT alongside Vin Diesel (check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray), and the actress has more big-budget blockbusters just over the horizon as she's also starring in GODZILLA VS. KONG, which is slated for a November 20, 2020 release.