Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise. Born in California, Diesel attended Hunter College in New York City, where studies in creative writing led him to begin screenwriting. He wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the short drama film Multi-Facial (1995) and his debut feature, Strays (1997). He came to prominence in the late 1990s. First, he gained recognition for his appearance in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan in 1998. He followed up with commercially successful films such as Boiler Room (2000) and The Pacifier (2005). He gained stardom as a leading action star headlining numerous franchises, including Fast & Furious, XXX...