Fast & Furious: Helen Mirren "Begged" Vin Diesel for Franchise Role
Ever since The Fast and the Furious hit theaters back in 2001, many big names have joined the franchise in its various sequels. The Rock, Gal Gadot, John Cena, and Charlize Theron are just some of the celebrities who have appeared in the Fast Saga, but no one surprised fans more than Helen Mirren. The Oscar-winning actor first appeared as Magdalene Shaw, the mother of Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, in The Fate of the Furious and she went on to reprise her role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and F9. During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mirren revealed that she "begged" franchise star Vin Diesel to be a part of the movies.
"I didn't ask – I begged!" Mirren shared. "I think I was at some function, and he was there, and I got introduced to him. And I was shameless: 'Oh God, I'd just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.' And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: 'I'll see what I can do.' And he did it for me. He found this great little role for me, which was perfect. I'd just never done anything like that before – one of those big, big movies. And, in my vanity, I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car."
"I have to say Vin Diesel is brilliant," Mirren told Entertainment Weekly back in 2015. "I love Vin Diesel. He's a great guy, smart—I love him. It's partly because of him I'd like to be in one, but also the driving."
As for the future of the Fast Saga, Fast and Furious 10 will be the first of two final movies coming to the Diesel-led franchise, and while The Rock won't be returning to play Luke Hobbs, there will be some exciting fresh faces in the 10th installment. Last month, it was announced that Aquaman star, Jason Momoa, has been officially cast in the movie, which is arriving in 2023. Earlier this month, Diesel teased that the movie would be going into production soon, and yesterday he took to Instagram to reveal they will be shooting in London. Currently, there's not word if Mirren will be showing up again, but we sure hope so!
Fast and Furious 10 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 19, 2023.