evidence: The transformation of Vin Diesel from Mark Sinclair to Hollywood action star involved a long and winding path to the top of the box office. According to CNN, one of his first steps was to come up with a cooler name. Even before he'd tried acting he used his Hollywood moniker while working for years as a bouncer at a club called The Tunnel. While the "Vin" came from his stepfather's surname, Vincent, he told Conan O'Brien (via Time) that "Diesel" was a nickname given to him because he always had a lot of energy. [...] In 2013, Vin Diesel's beloved friend and co-star Paul Walker died in a tragic car accident, leaving the cast and crew of the "Fast & Furious" franchise reeling. Diesel visited the site of the crash and addressed fans who had gathered to remember his co-star, telling the crowd (via the Los Angeles Times), "If he could see for himself that all of you have showed up to show my brother love at this hard time, and his family gets to see all of you show the love that you've shown Paul, it's going to stay with me forever." At the time of Walker's passing, they were partway through shooting "Furious 7." The film was finally released in 2015 and was finished thanks to a combination of CGI and Walker's brothers, Caleb and Cody, stepping in as body doubles.