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Vin Diesel reveals The Rock wasn't his first choice for role in Fast and Furious series, Tommy Lee Jones was

'The reason why we brought Dwayne Johnson into Fast Five was because of you'

Jack Shepherd
Wednesday 24 August 2016 09:50 BST
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Vin Diesel and The Rock
Vin Diesel and The Rock

As things wrapped up on the set of Fast 8, tensions reportedly grew between Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Vin Diesel, leading to rather public feud consisting of Instagram posts and ‘sources’ revealing information to online publications.

Their battle has seemingly continued, albeit only slightly, as Diesel revealed all about Johnson’s casting in Fast Five, revealing he was not initially intended to play the role; the part was actually written for Tommy Lee Jones.

Speaking in a Q&A with fans on Facebook, he said: “Back in the fifth film, I was asking ‘Who should I work with?’ The reason why we brought Dwayne Johnson into Fast Five was because of you.

“There was a girl named Jen (maybe, Jan?) Kelly who said, ‘I would love to see you guys work together on-screen.’ And so, we gave a role that was initially written for Tommy Lee Jones but we gave it to Dwayne, and he shined in it.”

Jones is, of course, a brilliant actor, having won multiple awards - including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Fugitive - yet, we can’t really imagine seeing him in the Fast and Furious series alongside a muscle powerhouse like Diesel. Still, Helen Mirren is in Fast 8, so who knows.

Meanwhile, various reports have attempted to detail ‘what actually happened’ between Diesel and The Rock on the set of Fast 8.

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