back when Vin Diesel was an indie filmmaker

How does one become a big action movie star? Like, how do you even get into that? Where do you start? Yeah, where did you start? Hi, I'm Danny Boyd, and this is Cinema Sticks, a celebration of film and film form. Forget about it, don't exist. I've seen this girl for like three months already, right? I bring candy. So the other week, I talked about The Iron Giant, one of my all-time favorite movies. And famously, Vin Diesel's first leading role in Hollywood. Do you talk? Despite only speaking 53 words across the whole thing. Blah, blah, blah, like that? Can you do that? Blah, blah, blah? But in my research for that video, I was reminded of a film director Brad Bird had mentioned in one of his interviews. And with Vin, Vin had just done a short film that I'd seen called Multifacial. And it was a wonderful demonstration of his fluidity as an actor. I didn't know people could turn into other people. I didn't exactly see it that way. So I went back and watched it. Shot in 1994, shown at Cannes in 1995, written by, directed by, and starring a 26-year-old club bouncer from New York City, Multifacial is Vin Diesel's slice-of-life story about an actor who struggles to land jobs because of his mixed ethnicity, where his racial ambiguity doesn't place him neatly enough into anyone's box. Sam Sinclair. Hey, man, I'm gonna be honest with you. You're a little too light. I mean, I could read you, but you're really too light. Ah, it's all right. I actually appreciate your honesty. In a pre-Fast and the Furious era of Diesel's career, it was a story about him. Not only was I not offered roles, there weren't really a whole lot of roles created for me. Or, I guess in Hollywood's eyes, there weren't a whole lot of roles created for me. Thanks. And so Diesel did what he had the power to do. He created a role for himself. Inspired by a shorts festival he'd gone to in New York with a friend, he put on camera his strengths and convictions as a performer and his passion for and frustration with the art and industry of acting in Hollywood. And that weekend overnight, I wrote Multifacial. In my bathroom, staring at the mirror. A 20-minute film that would spur one of the highest-grossing acting careers in history. I wrote Multifacial. Let's back up a second. You were being a bouncer. Were you also going out auditioning on stuff? The reason why I was bouncing is because I was auditioning during the daytime. And what kind of things would you go out for? Anything and everything. I walked by the Ed Sullivan Theater a thousand times trying to get work. As an actor, going up to the SAG office and looking on the bulletin board for any kind of audition for extra work. You remember him? Which Vin Diesel would at least sort of get. His first role was a background gig in the 1990 Robert De Niro film, Awakenings. That's him in the back, hidden behind the bar. And then, there was his commercial work. Ah. I did the Toy Fair. That's right, folks. We back him every step of the way. Tearing up the streets of 1995 and destroying the competition. And it was a big deal, because the $2,000 lasted me for six months. I can't wait till I do enough real work, real acting work, where I don't have to sweat commercials. You know what I'm saying? Man, as long as I get paid, I don't care what it is. Oh, yeah? Multifacial would fundamentally reflect Vin Diesel's early tug of war between the Hollywood dream and the Hollywood grind. You don't look for soap right now. There are a couple parts you'd really be good for. Nah. I'm not really into doing soaps, I'll be honest with you. It's not my idea of really acting. You know what I mean? You gotta make a living. Yeah, but look at, I mean, I'm not really into soap. I'm not really into soap. I'm not into soap. Yeah, but look at Marlon Brando or Sidney Poitier. They didn't do soaps. I come from an artist's housing in New York City. So everyone was an artist. My father was a theater director and an acting teacher. But my mother, when I was about 25 years old, 20 years not getting any work, got me this book called Feature Films That Use Car Prices. And it more than anything empowered me so that I could feel like, since nobody was writing a role for me, I could write my own. Yeah. Yeah, I did the monologue you gave me. Yeah, yeah, I told them it was a true story. But couldn't I have been a little less offensive? I mean, they probably think I'm some misogynist, homophobic guido. Don't worry, they definitely thought I was a guido. The film is essentially bookended by two long-take audition monologues, each touching on the convergence of identity and performance in acutely different ways. It's my girl that's a problem, not him. So, like, I'm not a queer. The first, brutish, derogatory, disingenuous, someone else's words, someone else's story. I throw my girl out by her hair, and oh, do I throw her a beating. The second, quiet, introverted, personal. My dad was a black actor, but he wanted me to go one step further. He wanted me to be an actor, just an actor. I just came from this audition, and my manager wanted me to try and play the role. I did this Italian role. You could do that? Yeah, but it was a little weird, because, like, I did this monologue that was offensive, and it was, like, didn't really feel right. You know what I mean? I was, like, offending people. In filming Multifacial, Vin Diesel set out to solve a personal problem, to create a role specific to him. But the movie scratches at the surface of a former pervasive, far older issue, this is Hollywood, where you're cast on looking the part, not on being the part. Mike, can you speak Italian at all? Yeah, you know, how could you not? No rompo di miei occhioni, capisce? Marron. At least today, there's a little more discourse around it, but in the 90s, if a character is written for one type, and you're no type, you end up reading for parts you're not meant to play, which can lead to stereotypes. And not you do good for that, huh? The imitations of stereotypes. Baby! Now we do, and my business is our brother-father, and don't you ever forget that! Muchacho, el bolquero te tiene que vender esa bolqueria! Huh? And even when you do put in the work, it doesn't always matter. Well, that was impressive. We're supposed to be looking for a long-haired type. You are? Yeah, someone with dreadlocks, a polish or a hairstyle. I'll be looking at some other types as well. Right. You know, when you're a musician, or you're a painter, you don't need anyone's permission to be artistic. When you're an actor, you need, you depend on other artists before you are ever given the opportunity to be artistic. You need a great writer, you need a great director. And I wanted to start filling some of those hats in service of my initial passion, which was acting. Hey, didn't I tell you about shit, doing shit like that? That's why I don't- It was Vin Diesel's ultimate ambition with Multifacial that it'd help him to get funding for a feature-length film he'd written called Strays. This guy would do all my shit. What the fuck is so fucking funny about that? Why the fuck would that be funny? A project he'd been trying to find financing for for years, but it didn't work. You would've done the same shit, man. Not now, not, not now. And it didn't, I didn't get any money, so I had to start working telemarketing and save money for a year to earn $47,000 to make a film called Strays. I could do this. Strays is a romantic drama Diesel made in 1997 based on his bouncing days. He would eventually take it to Sundance and try to get it sold, but that didn't work out either. Until... I come back home, I'm like, oh my God, I didn't sell this movie. Couple weeks later, I get a call from Steven Spielberg, and he's telling me he's doing a movie called Saving Private Ryan with a guy named Tom. Uh-huh. Steven Spielberg had seen Multifacial, he'd seen Strays, and he writes Vin Diesel a part in Saving Private Ryan a month before production begins. He's good. I love him. He had just filmed Private Ryan, but it hadn't come out yet, so he was really kind of an unknown when we got him for Iron Giant. Someone on our staff knew of him and said, you should check this guy out. And when he came in and I saw Multifacial, I thought he had an amazing voice and amazing presence for our lead guy. Boom. Yes. Between Spielberg and Brad Bird, one 20-minute short film shot over three days for $3,000 became the calling card of one of the biggest future stars in the world. So many people are a part of it. Steven Spielberg, when I was in Sundance, Robert Redford gave me a lot of confidence. So many people, Tom Hanks gave me a lot of great advice. So many people have been helpful along the way. I'll be with you in a minute, all right? And to sum it all up... If you can't do it all, do what you can. I'm Danny Boyd. Thanks for watching. ♪ We are just what we are ♪ ♪ So don't let it change ♪ ♪ We are... ♪