The first thing that comes into mind when you hear the name Vin Diesel is the muscle-bound, bald, deep voice ultra, uber badass. From his high adrenaline car chase scenes, to the neck snapping brutality, Vin Diesel is a household name in action films. But beyond all that Hollywood glamour the man is a straight up game nerd like the rest of us. His contribution to the gaming community stretches beyond the controller. Vin Diesel is an avid gamer, I mean the guy has like 3 level 80’s in World of Warcraft. But he is actively behind the scenes with interests spanning from his likeness being portrayed in video game characters such as The Chronicles of Riddick, to the smooth driving undercover agent in The Wheelman.
When he’s not filming or pwning noobz on Xbox Live, Vin Diesel is also the founder of the game company Tigon Studios. The intention of Tigon was to create video games that allowed his likeness to be used seamlessly. The latest game “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena”, for example was created to bridge the gap between Hollywood and game developers to expand the franchise while enhancing the movie experience.
To add to his repertoire he has played table top Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years. And to pay homage to his character “Melkor”, he had a fake tattoo on his stomach during the filming of xXx. During many of his interviews he’s always talking about games and how he enjoys them in his spare time. He truly is a gamer at heart. I personally loved his character in the movie Boiler Room. Fans of the colossal mega-hit God of War, have been very vocal about him portraying Kratos on hundreds of forums. Hollywood is currently in the process of creating the film adaptation of the game. The creative director of the first GOW (David Jaffe) has mentioned the idea of Diesel taking on the role. I think that he would definitely feel right at home portraying the god-slaying Kratos. I mean come on how could this role be anyone else besides big Vinnie? Until then we’ll be seeing what Vin Diesel has in store for us in the years to come.
