Did Vin Diesel Go To College?

Regardless of where Vin Diesel went to college, it is clear that his passion for his work and tireless work ethic is the reason for where he is today in his career. The actor and producer has made a big name for himself in Hollywood, after a fairly humble upbringing.

Vin Diesel went to college at Hunter College in New York City, where he began a major in English. However, it is unclear whether he was a good student or not, but he left the school and dropped out of college after three years to pursue his dream of an acting career in Hollywood.

You can see a picture of Vin Diesel in what seems to be his prime, filming one of the most popular movie series in American history – “The Fast and the Furious” – using the Instagram link below. 

Vin Diesel’s Unique Path to Success

Vin Diesel, who was born as Mark Sinclair, was raised in New York City with his twin brother, Paul Vincent. His mother, Delora Sherleen Sinclair, was an astrologer and psychologist, and raised the boys with their adotpic father, Irving Vincent. 

Vin Diesel was raised in an artistic home. His adoptive father, Irving Vincent, was an acting instructor and theatre manager in an artists’ housing project in New York City’s Greenwich Village. 

However, his father is not the one who introduced him to acting, even though he was an acting instructor.

In fact, the story is much more interesting.

Vin Diesel, surprisingly, was introduced to acting on accident. He and his friends broke into a theatre when he was seven years old with intentions to vandalize it. 

A woman happened to be in the theatre and stopped them before they could do any damage. In return, she offered each of the boys a copy of a script and twenty dollars. 

There was one condition. They had to attend the theatre every day after school to be a part of the play, rather than getting in trouble for their naughty intentions. 

From there, Vin Diesel – who was still known as Mark Sinclair at the time – began his acting career and never looked back. He progressed from the New York theatre that his adoptive father worked for, to the Off-Off-Broadway circuit.

At age seventeen, he had already discovered his love for fitness and maintaining a strong, muscular frame, so he became a bouncer at some of the New York City clubs in order to earn some extra money on the side. At this time in his life, he changed his name from Mark Sinclair to something a little bit more intense – Vin Diesel. 

Shortly after this, he finished high school and enrolled in Hunter College and had a plan to major in English. However, he dropped out of school after three years to pursue his acting career in Hollywood. 

While that advice might not be suitable for everyone, it surely worked for Vin Diesel. Eventually.

After the first year, he was still struggling to make any progress in the acting industry, as it seemed his experience did not make a dent in the well oiled world of show business in Hollywood. So, he moved back to New York where his family still lived. 

Assuming he had tried his best and that was all there was to it, he was content. However, in the natural way of a mother, his mom gave him a book titled “Feature Films at Used Car Prices,” written by Rick Schmidt. 

The book became a pivotal moment in Vin Diesel’s career. It taught him that he did not have to rely on the established producers in Hollywood. 

Instead, he could make money if he made and sold his own movies. He took a shot at it and created a movie based on his own experiences in the acting industry, costing a mere $3,000 to produce and filming over the course of three days.

The film was called Multi-Facial, and it was produced in 1995. Vin Diesel apparently had an unacknowledged talent, considering it was accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, where he would make his great debut as a producer. 

The film received great attention at the festival and became the catapult for his impressive career as both an actor and a producer. Like many of us, the person he has to thank the most for his success is his mother. 

Seems too good to be true? You can see this video of Vin Diesel in his younger days, using the YouTube link below.

Vin Diesel’s Career in Acting and Producing

After his initial success, Vin Diesel returned to Los Angeles and raised almost $50,000 through cold calls to fund his next endeavor – a film called “Strays” in 1997. 

It did not sell as well as he hoped, but within six months of filming it was accepted for the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. 

It turns out that “Multi-Facial” is the film that attracted so much success for Vin Diesel’s acting career. This became the catalyst to earn roles in “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Iron Giant,” and “Pitch Black.” 

Since then, he has starred in “The Fast and the Furious” series, “The Pacifier,” “xXx,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Find Me Guilty.”

So, if you want to be like Vin Diesel, don’t get distracted on his overwhelming success.

Take some tips from his humble beginnings and don’t give up on your dreams. 

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