Vin Diesel on Saving Private Ryan Paycheck and Mother's Mantra

Hollywood actor Vin Diesel has reflected on the moment he used his first acting earnings to give his mother a trip she had never taken before: a journey to Europe.

Diesel's earnings came from Saving Private Ryan, the 1998 war film directed by Steven Spielberg. In a heartfelt Instagram post, he explained how his character, Caparzo, brought back a memory of a belief his mother often repeated.

Diesel said he went home after the role nearly three decades ago, having received his first cheque as an actor from Paramount. He noted that he had already been to the Cannes and Sundance film festivals as a director, but had earned no money from those experiences.

“I bought my mother a ticket to Europe with that cheque,” he wrote, adding that it was her first visit to the continent.

He described Caparzo as a man who was killed while helping a child nobody had asked him to protect. Diesel said his mother is exactly like that. Her mantra, he explained, is that the best way to help yourself is to help others.

Diesel also revealed that he asked his mother which of his upcoming projects she was most excited about. The answer, he said, was the Fast & Furious finale and Riddick, because she loves anti-heroes.

He pointed to other projects as well, including Calder, new lycanthropes or werewolves, and Scottish folklore. He also mentioned Rock 'Em Sock 'Em, joking that his mother knew how personal these works were to him.

The actor said Sundance will soon mark 30 years and recalled that his mother had been present in the bitter cold of Park City. He wrote that Caparzo never got his letter home, but that the letter he is sending is his own. He hopes it makes his mother proud.

Diesel is best known for his role as Dominic “Dom” Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise. He has also written, directed, produced, and starred in the short film Multi-Facial and his first feature, Strays.

He became famous in the late 1990s, but Saving Private Ryan gave him his first real public recognition. He later appeared in commercially successful films such as Boiler Room and The Pacifier.