Vin Diesel Recalls Late Friend and Fast & Furious Co-Star Paul Walker on Ninth Anniversary of Death in Car Accident: ‘Love You and Miss You’
Vin Diesel paid tribute to his late friend and co-star Paul Walker on the ninth anniversary before the actor’s tragic death in a car crash in 2013.
The Fast and the Furious actor, 55, posted a picture of himself next to Walker, who was 40 at the time of the fatal car accident in Santa Clarita, California on November 30, 2013.
The A-list action star captioned the shot of herself and Walker, who played Brian O’Conner in the film series, “Nine years…love you and miss you.”
The latest: Vin Diesel, 55, paid tribute to his late friend and co-star Paul Walker on the ninth anniversary before the actor’s tragic death in a car crash in 2013
A week after Walker’s death, Diesel said in a Facebook post, “Pablo, I wish you could see the world now… and the profound impact your whole life has had on it, on us… on me.”
Referring to Walker’s character in the film series, he said, “I will always love you, Brian, as the brother that you were…on and off the screen.”
He noted how he remained close to Walker’s family after his death.
“I thought they needed my strength, but when I got there and collapsed in front of his family, I realized it was me who needed theirs,” Diesel said. “His mom gave me a hug and said I’m so sorry… I said I’m sorry? You are the mother who lost a son? … She said yes, but you lost your other half.”
Diesel was snapped at an event in Universal City, California last year
Walker and Diesel were photographed in Germany in March 2009
Diesel played Dom Toretto for Walker’s Brian O’Connor in the film series
In January 2014, just over a month after Walker’s death, Diesel opened up on Facebook about how much he missed his friend.
“There were always moments of childish laughter… We had accomplished so much by 2013… Ps. The complexity of the Brotherhood and the aching emptiness… of its absence,” he said.
Diesel walked Walker’s daughter (and goddaughter) Meadow, 24, down the aisle as she wed Louis Thornton-Allan last year.
In a November 2021 Instagram post, he said Walker advised him to stay in the delivery room as he prepared to have daughter Hania, now 14, with partner Paloma Jiménez, 39.
“I told you I was about to have a baby and I didn’t know what to expect at the hospital I was going to after work,” Diesel said. “I’ll never forget what you told me. You said a lot of tough guys would tell you to wait outside the delivery room, but that’s wrong. Go in there, actually cut the umbilical cord and it’ll be the best day of your life.’
Diesel noted that his daughter was a key member of Meadow’s bridal court when she got married.
“The same angel that you helped me prepare for with your brotherly advice in the most beautiful way possible is the same angel that precious Meadow asked to be her maid of honor,” Diesel said. “How could I have known back on the set of Fast 2008… but maybe you kind of knew.”