Vin Diesel played Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious, released in 2001.
Dominic Toretto is the central street racer and mechanic introduced in the franchise’s first film. The story follows Brian O’Conner, an undercover police officer, as he investigates a series of truck hijackings and becomes involved with Dom’s family and racing crew. Diesel’s performance established Dom as a tough but loyal character whose priorities center on family.
The film was directed by Rob Cohen and also starred Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, and Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto. It was inspired in part by a magazine article about illegal street racing in Los Angeles.
Vin Diesel later returned as Dom in the main sequel films and became one of the franchise’s principal producers. A common mix-up is confusing Diesel’s role with Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs or Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw; neither character appeared in the first movie.