As ‘Fast and Furious 6‘ prepares to hit theatres, we thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane to see the actors of the film from the beginning of the franchise, far back when it began in 2001. If you recognise any of the actors or characters from the older films, we have images of them from the time ‘The Fast and the Furious’ first came out. Continue reading to see what your favourite cast members looked like.
Dwayne Johnson, Luke Hobbs
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson With his hallmark catchphrases like “Do you smell what The Rock is cookin’?” Johnson was a professional wrestler for the WWE. Johnson exploited his magnetism to launch a cinematic career, appearing in films like “The Scorpion King” and “The Rundown” while famous for speaking in the third person and lifting his eyebrows dramatically.
In ‘Fast and Furious 6,’ Dwayne Johnson, the hulking action star, reprises his role as Luke Hobbs, a federal agent who offers the group a clean slate in exchange for their assistance in tracking down and apprehending an international criminal. You may have previously seen him in ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ and ‘Pain and Gain,’ which were both released this year.
Vin Diesel, Dominic Toretto
Then: Vin Diesel earned a name for himself in films like “Boiler Room,” “Pitch Black,” and “xXx” before joining the cast of the original “The Fast and the Furious.” While working on The Iron Giant, he also narrated the role of a gigantic robot. Diesel’s bulk was a liability in the first ‘Fast and Furious,’ when he accidently shattered the nose of a stuntman.
For ‘Fast and Furious 6,’ Diesel appears to have barely aged at all. There are two more Riddick movies in the works: this year, Diesel will reprise his role as the character from ‘Pitch Black’ in ‘Riddick,’ a continuation of the plot that began in the original ‘Pitch Black.’
Paul Walker, Brian O’Conner
Paul Walker almost didn’t get the part of Brian O’Conner in ‘The Fast and the Furious’ after a spate of movies that made him famous in the late 1990s (‘Varsity Blues’ and ‘She’s All That’ among them). Christian Bale and rapper Eminem were were considered for the role before Walker was cast as the film’s major protagonist.
It’s been five years since Walker last appeared in the series as Brian in “Fast and Furious 6,” thus this will be his sixth outing in the film series. ‘Hours,’ a low-budget independent drama that premiered at SXSW this year, also included him.
Michelle Rodriguez, Letty Ortiz
Actress Michelle Rodriguez, just starting her career, had no driver’s licence when she was cast in the first picture yet she still managed to get behind the wheel nevertheless. Rodriguez made her big-screen debut in ‘Girlfight,’ a film for which she trained hard to play a professional boxer, before appearing in ‘The Fast and the Furious.’.
Since The Fast and the Furious, Rodriguez has starred in films such as ‘Avatar,’ ‘Machete,’ and ‘Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol.’ In Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming film ‘Machete Kills,’ you can see her again.
Elsa Pataky, Elena
Once you saw her in ‘Snakes on a Plane’ and ‘Beyond Re-Animator’, you’d know she was worth keeping an eye out for. In the meantime, she had a starring role in a number of Spanish television shows.
Pataky is back in ‘Fast and Furious 6,’ reprising her role as Elena, and when she’s not acting, she’s busy being a mother to her child with Chris Hemsworth, her co-star in ‘Thor,’ as well.
Tyrese Gibson, Roman
He was a male model for Tommy Hilfiger before becoming a VJ on MTV, where he was known for his work. Before joining the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise in ‘2 Fast 2 Furious,’ Gibson appeared in the 2001 film ‘Baby Boy.’
Fast and Furious 6 isn’t the only film he has appeared in: He also appeared in all three Transformers films and is a hip-hop musician.
Jordana Brewster, Mia Toretto
When she was cast as Mia in ‘The Fast and the Furious,’ Jordana Brewster, like her co-star Michelle Rodriguez, did not have a driver’s licence. As a result of Dushku’s refusal, Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst and Sarah Michelle Gellar all auditioned for the role before it was finally given to Brewster, who had previously been in the daytime drama ‘As the World Turns’ and the sci-fi horror film ‘The Faculty.’
Since then, Brewster has been in a number of films, including ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,’ in which she played Jane Smith, and in a television series pilot for ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith,’ which was never greenlit. Dallas, the modernised version of the original TV drama, has her as a regular cast member.
Ludacris, Tej
After making his acting debut in ‘The Wash,’ Chris “Ludacris” Bridges joined the ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ bandwagon in ‘The Wash 2’
Following his breakout appearance in ‘Crash’, Ludacris has been in films such as RocknRolla and Gamer. He has worked with a wide range of artists, including Justin Bieber and Missy Elliott. ‘Fast and Furious 6’ will be Tej’s third appearance in the ‘Fast’ series.
Gal Gadot, Gisele
Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, won the Miss Israel pageant in 2004 and represented her country at the Miss Universe pageant that year. In 2009, she landed her first major role in ‘Fast and Furious,’ the fourth film in the franchise.’
Since then, Gadot has been in films such as “Date Night,” “Knight and Day,” and most recently, “Fast Five” and “Fast and Furious 6,” in which she reprised her role as Gisele.
Sung Kang, Han
A few years later: Although Sung Kang had his big-screen debut in “Mystery Men,” he gained notoriety for his part as Han in director Justin Lin’s “Better Luck Tomorrow.” When he asked Kang to reprise his role as Han in ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ Lin was implying that the two films are set in the same timeline.
As it stands, we’re most enthused by Kang’s performance as Han Solo in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Bullet to the Head.” Fast & Furious 6’s director, Justin Lin, has cast Kang in the character of Han for both films.
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