Vin Diesel says Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson "shines" in the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise.
The 47-year-old actor-and-producer has spoken out to praise the 44-year-old star, despite widespread speculation the former wrestler’s recent rant about an "unprofessional" co-star on ‘Fast 8 was directed at him.
In a Facebook video addressed to his fans, Vin said: "The reason we brought Dwayne Johnson into ‘Fast 5’ was because of you (the fans).
"There was a girl named Jan Kelly who said, ‘I would love to see you work together on screen.’ So the role that was originally written for Tommy Lee Jones, we gave it to Dwayne and he shined in it."
Vin’s comments came a few days after The Rock praised his "family" on the movie, mentioning a number of his co-stars by name, but notably not his rumoured nemesis.
He wrote: "Finished strong and on to the next. That’s an officially wrap on #FastAndFurious8. Thank you to our director @fgarygray for the vision and execution. Thank you UNIVERSAL for being tremendous partners as always, thank you to all my fellow co-stars for the daily effort and grind.
"Scott Eastwood you handsome sumbitch! Natalie Emmanuel I have a cold Budweiser ready for you and Tyrese Gibson you still have the biggest smile and forehead I’ve ever seen. And a huge THANK YOU to our hard working production crew – the backbone of our business. Your kind words meant a lot to me last night – thank you! In the end, we all rallied, as great teams do, kicked ass and will deliver an amazing movie to the world. Proud of our entire FAST FAMILY (sic)."
In his original rant, the former WWE star praised his female co-stars in the film, including Charlize Theron, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, but admitted it was a "different story" working with the guys.
The actor – who plays bounty hunter Luke Hobbs – wrote: "This is my final week of shooting Fast & Furious 8. There’s no other franchise that gets my blood boiling more than this one.
"An incredible hard working crew. Universal Studios Entertainment has been great partners as well. My female co-stars are always amazing and I love ’em. My male co-stars however are a different story.
"Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t. The ones that don’t are too chicken s**t to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.(sic)"
Vin Diesel praises Dwayne Johnson
