“The ’90s was characterized largely by an East Coast/West Coast beef: I was a quintessential New Yorker, he was a quintessential LA boy.
The first chapter of the series, now up to nine films , introduced Walker as undercover cop Brian O’Conner and Diesel as famed street racer Dominic Toretto, whose crew O’Conner is tasked to infiltrate while investigating a series of vehicular hijackings.
“I don’t think anybody ever felt like it was going to be more than one movie,” Lin says.
Diesel has fond memories of making that original movie with Walker.
The initial meeting between Dom and Brian, however, is at the Toretto bodega where Dom keeps this stranger he’ll eventually grow to love like a brother from getting a beating.
“There were 50 people in the room: actors, directors, writers, executives, producers, assistant directors,” Diesel remembers about that “Furious” table reading.
It was just something like, ‘Yeah, that’s what he’s going to tell you all if you try to give me any goofy lines.