Born in California, Diesel attended NYC's Hunter College, 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, and first became known for appearing in Steven Spielberg's ''Saving Private Ryan'' in 1998. He followed up with commercially successful films such as ''Boiler Room'' (2000), ''The Pacifier'' (2005) and ''Find Me Guilty'' (2006). He gained stardom as a leading action star headlining numerous franchises, including ''Fast & Furious'', ''XXX'', and ''The Chronicles of Riddick''.
He founded the production company One Race Films, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for his star vehicles. Diesel also founded the record label Racetrack Records and video game developer Tigon Studios, providing his voice and motion capture for all of Tigon's releases.
