Vin Diesel, the world-famous action star, has rarely changed his looks. Aside from a few movies, he’s mostly known for his iconic bald head and ripped body. Actually, plenty of people think he’s naturally bald, however, it might be a surprise to know that in fact, he’s not.
I’ve just gotten so used to Vin Diesel’s bald head that it became hard to believe that he once had a head full of hair. The history of Vin Diesel hair goes a long way back to 1990 when he first made a cinematic appearance—it even goes longer back.
Here’s everything you need to know about Vin Diesel’s hair and all the times when he did have hair.
Vin Diesel’s Early Years
Vin Diesel, who’s now one of the world’s highest-grossing actors, was born in Alameda County, California in 1967. Surprisingly, his real name isn’t Vin Diesel. He was born Mark Sinclair, and he’s got a twin brother who’s named Paul.
He got the name Diesel back when he was 17 working as a bouncer in New York. As for the name Vin, it’s just a short for Vincent, his mother’s married last name.
In 1985, Vin Diesel graduated from New York City’s Anglo-American School. In his senior class photo, he appears with a head full of thick black hair rocking a flattering outfit. However, back then, he didn’t have the toned body that he has now.
Vin Diesel’s first introduction to acting happened by chance when he, his brother, and his friends decided to break into the Theater for the New City space on Jane Street. Instead of calling the police, the theater’s artistic director, Crystal Field, offered them roles in a show.
Ever since then, Vin Diesel has remained involved with the theater. He attended Hunter College, NYC, where he did studies in creative writing, which led him to begin screenwriting.
Vin Diesel’s Cinematic Appearances With Hair
Vin Diesel’s tough look, involving his bald head and muscular build, has always been a good fit for action movies. I mean, you can hardly imagine Dominic Toretto in the Fast and the Furious movie series with hair whatsoever.
Likewise, Xander Cage would never be as convincing fighting off Russian terrorists in XXX with a head of hair. I can’t see it either.
The Vin Diesel we all know has always been bald—or has he? In fact, though, Vin Diesel starred in a few movies where he had hair in at least one scene.
Here are the movies that Vin Diesel appeared in with hair (wig, actually):
Awakenings (1990)
Although he appeared in only two shots, this movie is considered Vin Diesel’s first cinematic appearance.
He played the role of a hospital orderly, and ironically enough, you can’t even see his head in one of the two shots. However, we can count Awakenings as one of the movies where Vin Diesel had hair.
After that movie, in 1995, Vin Diesel decided to write, direct, and produce a short movie named Multi-Facial, where he first appeared bald. That said, he first became known after appearing in Steven Spielberg’s movie, Saving Private Ryan which screened in 1998.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
The Chronicles of Riddick is the first appearance of Vin Diesel with hair but this time as a leading actor. It’s a sequel to the movie Pitch Black that he also starred in as Riddick four years earlier.
Vin Diesel appeared bald in both movies, though there was a scene in The Chronicles of Riddick where he had hair. By “hair,” I mean long locks and a beard so thick that you can barely see his face. That was because Riddick had been hiding on an Arctic planet of U.V. for a while.
Once he went to fight the Necromongers and left the planet U.V., he went back to being the bald guy we all know and love. Just for the record, that amount of hair was obviously a professionally done wig.
Find Me Guilty (2006)
Not long after The Chronicles of Riddick, Vin Diesel appeared with hair again in Find Me Guilty. This movie was based on a true story about the longest trial in American history that was related to the Mafia. It’s where Vin Diesel played the role of Jackie DiNorscio, the mob boss.
Again, in Find Me Guilty, Vin Diesel wore a wig and a fake belly too. However, this time it was a much toned down wig with a graying, receding hairline. Not to mention that he willingly gained a few pounds for the role.
After starring in Find Me Guilty, Vin Diesel committed to his bald head for nearly a decade. During that period, he did a few of his most famous cinematic appearances, like five parts of the Fast and the Furious movie series as well as Babylon A.D.
The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
In 2015, Vin Diesel appeared again with hair. This time he had an undercut that was short on the sides and long on the top, alongside a braided beard. It’s one of the coolest looks he’s ever done and it suited the fantasy action atmosphere that the movie portrayed.
Unfortunately, The Last Witch Hunter didn’t achieve much success. The movie was largely criticized and received quite a bunch of bad reviews.
Conclusion
Though it’s hard to believe that Vin Diesel even has hair follicles, there’s more than one proof that he does. Just take a look at his high school yearbook photo, where he appeared with really thick hair, and everything will fall into place.
Nevertheless, for most of his leading roles, Vin Diesel appeared with a bald head. Hair or no hair though, Vin Diesel is one of the most iconic actors out there and he’s got a huge fan base to support that.
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