Vin Diesel went to stunt school for 'Fast & Furious'

New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Hollywood action man Vin Diesel, who once again gets behind the wheel in the fourth instalment of the 'Fast & Furious' franchise, reveals he had to attend a special car school to learn driving stunts for the role.

'Yes, and not just because of the driving but also to achieve what the cinematographer and the director needed to get the shot right - like doing a 360 degree into the camera without wiping out the whole crew!' Diesel told IANS in an e-mail interview from the US.

'I think I get such a charge doing it (getting behind the wheel), while surrounded by the best stunt guys that they are more often than not actually trying to hold me back,' the actor said.

Directed by Justin Lin, 'Fast & Furious' is an interquel set between the second and third films '2 Fast 2 Furious' (2003) and 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' (2006).

Known for his action-packed performances, Diesel reprises his role as ace driver Dominic Toretto in 'Fast & Furious'. He also says that the cars in the film have been chosen according to the characters.

'We have always tried to find cars that match the personalities of the different characters in the film; like I am a muscle car kind of guy, and I have always been consistent about that,' he said.

The 41-year-old, who attained action hero status with 'The Fast and the Furious', played a cameo in 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'.

He turned down the offer to play lead in '2 Fast 2 Furious' and says he had his reasons for coming back to the franchise.

'I did the film because of the good response I got to the cameo I did in '...Tokyo Drift'. It proved to me that the audience had embraced my character and were hungry for more. So essentially I returned to pay homage to Dominic Toretto,' he said.

Not many know that Diesel has also directed a 20-minute prequel to 'Fast & Furious', focusing on the absence of characters Dominic and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) after the first film in the series.

Throwing light on the new film, he said: 'The landscape for us (the characters) has changed, because we were young rebels then but now we are starting to get a bit over the hill. Quiet frankly, we have grown up in the film.

'But, I think we were still able to reshape the genre within the same franchise. And the way we achieved it was by creating a good story that would make everybody's return compelling and also bring back as much of that original flavour possible, while allowing for something new.'

Diesel, who became the father of a girl close to the end of the film's making, thinks that his daughter has changed his approach towards doing dangerous stunts in movies.

'I have always been a kind of stoic and independent person who never needed anyone, but now I find myself addicted to this little angel.

'You are definitely not thinking only about your own threshold of danger once you have a kid. I have to take into consideration now every single thing I do. And that isn't limited only to stunts, but to all my work,' the star said.

Diesel's forthcoming projects include 'Hannibal the Conqueror', which he has directed, 'The Wheelman' and the third instalment of the action-thriller series 'xXx: The Return of Xander Cage'.

He has also lent his voice for animated movie 'Rockfish' and driving game 'Wheelman'.

Made on a budget of $80 million, the film has been co-produced by Neal H. Moritz, Ricardo Del Rio and Diesel himself. It releases Friday in the US and India.

Apart from Diesel, actors Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster also reprise their roles from the series in the film.