The Fast and Furious franchise has featured some pretty big stars since the early days of the street racing crew stealing TV/VCR combos. Check out the later entries and you’ll see Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, and plenty of others. But one action favorite who won’t be getting behind the wheel is Jean-Claude Van Damme, who claims that he hit a big, bad, bald roadblock when approached about joining the Fast and Furious franchise.
In a profile by The Telegraph, Jean-Claude Van Damme claimed that he could have once been a part of the insanity of this series if for Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious franchise. “They want me in Fast and Furious… But Vin Diesel said, ‘No, I don’t want him.’” Shot down by the dude from Pitch Black and The Pacifier! The voice of the tree in Guardians of the Galaxy! If this is true – and it has yet to be confirmed from the other end – one can’t help but wonder why Diesel wouldn’t want JCVD. Surely it has nothing to do with his wattage overpowering his own, as the series has, as mentioned, been host to various stars. Or maybe he thought he would be too over-the-top? Hey, that was rumored to cause a rift between him and Jason Momoa…
In the same piece, JCVD also touched on the excessive use of CGI and how it differs from his heyday. “It was the golden age because it was no CG at that time – an obligation to do it by yourself…It felt more real because it was real.” No doubt the series – now 10 movies deep – makes use of CGI to achieve key sequences, but there is still some pretty incredible stunt work going on in the Fast and Furious universe, something that Van Damme truly admires. “I’m very proud of [stuntmen] because they make me look very strong,…But when I do a kick, that’s my specialty, no stunt guys. By the way, guys, put it in slow motion so they can see it’s me! We need stuntmen. Stuntmen are great.” With the release of the Fast X sequel set for 2025, there’s still time for us fans to try to land him the job.
Interestingly, Jean-Claude Van Damme played himself in a season one episode of Las Vegas titled “Die Fast, Die Furious”, so named for the faux movie he was starring in at the time of his death (yeah, you read that correctly).
If this rumor is true, it would be one of many feuds the possibly mercurial Vin Diesel currently has going. Here are some of them:
Arguably, it’s the most famous Fast feud of them all. Dwayne Johnson’s role as Luke Hobbs revitalized his career. Many thought the antagonist energy between Johnson and Diesel helped make Fast Five the best film in the franchise. Yet, Johnson’s roles in Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7 were relatively small. He was elevated to co-lead status in Fate of the Furious (the first sequel developed after the tragic passing of Paul Walker), but that shoot was where the feud with Diesel went into full swing.
It started when Johnson posted on his Instagram that some of the men on the set were acting like “candy asses.” If you watch the movie, Diesel and Johnson are never actually on-screen together, with them reportedly shooting all of their scenes separately. Diesel blamed the feud on tough love, but for a while, there was bad blood between the stars. Yet, Johnson showed up in the tag ending of Fast X, teeing up a spin-off centred around his character (Hobbs & Reyes), so maybe a couple of big paychecks squashed the beef.
This one is a rumor, with the buzz being that Diesel blames Fast X‘s mediocre performance at the box office on Momoa’s scene-stealing performance as Dante Reyes. While most reviews singled Momoa out as one of the movie’s saving graces, it’s worth noting that he’s set to co-star with Johnson in his Hobbs spin-off before returning for Fast X – Part 2.
This one is particularly heartbreaking. Lin was the director who coaxed Diesel back for a cameo in Tokyo Drift and elevated the series from glorified B-movies into tentpole summer blockbusters. Yet, Lin quit Fast X while it was already in production, a move that seems like a last resort. The buzz in the trades was that Lin and Diesel had a significant disagreement that led to the director quitting in favour of his mental health.
Did we miss any Diesel beefs? Let us know in the comments.
Here’s some fun trivia to end on: When Vin Diesel was born in Alameda County, California back in 1967, he was given the name Mark Sinclair.