Vin Diesel broke down over Paul Walker’s death while filming ‘Fate of the Furious’.
The 49-year-old actor – who plays Dominic Toretto in the movie franchise – is still coming to terms with the death of friend and co-star Paul (Brian O’Connor) in a car crash in 2013 and admitted he couldn’t "keep it together" when filming one particular scene without him.
He told USA Today: "I had never done a barbecue scene without him. And every time I had ever done a barbecue scene, the first thing I was always asked is, ‘Where does Paul sit? Where does Brian sit?’ And that wasn’t happening. And I just cracked and broke down and had to walk off set to collect myself. That was the only time I wasn’t strong enough to keep it together.
"Then I saw Michelle Rodriguez following me in tears and she came up and hugged me."
‘Fate of the Furious’ director F. Gary Gray is new to the franchise but he admitted that Paul’s death also got to him as he knew the cast before he became involved with the movie.
He explained: "So when tragedy hit, I felt it as well. So jumping into this movie and respecting Paul’s legacy was part of every major choice that happened. There were moments when people got emotional. People were not used to shooting without their brother. It was challenging. But it also helped pull them through to dedicate this to him."
When asked if Paul would like the new movie, Vin said: "I’m afraid to ask him. Because I think he would love a lot of aspects of the film. And then he’d tell me what would have to happen in the next one."