Vin Diesel tears up honoring Paul Walker in moving tribute with his daughter at “Fast & Furious” screening

Shania RussellThu, May 14, 2026 at 4:19 PM UTC

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Paul Walker and Vin Diesel at the world premiere of 'Fast & Furious 6' in 2013
Credit: Dave M. Benett/WireImageKey Points -

Vin Diesel got emotional while paying tribute to Paul Walker at a Cannes screening of  The Fast and the Furious.

Diesel also honored the actor's daughter, Meadow, who founded the Paul Walker Foundation.

Walker's character, Brian O’Conner, is slated to make an appearance in the final film in the franchise, Fast Forever.

As Fast & Furious fans know all too well, nothing matters more than family. And for Vin Diesel, that includes his late costar Paul Walker.

On Wednesday, Diesel attended a midnight anniversary screening of The Fast and the Furious, the movie that not only launched the franchise but marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship. After the film, the Dominic Toretto actor took a few moments to honor Walker, who died in a 2013 car accident.

"I pray that in your life you have a brother like Paul," Diesel told the audience, per footage from the Cannes Film Festival event, pausing as his voice cracked with emotion.

The actor was visibly tearing up as he continued, "It wasn’t on the script at first that this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy would be a brother to me… After every premiere, he'd sit with me, no one else could be around. He didn't want to be around anyone else. He just would walk off with me and whisper into my ear, 'The best one's still in the can.'"

Diesel also took time to honor Walker's relationship with his daughter, Meadow, who is keeping her father's legacy alive via the Paul Walker Foundation.

Meadow Walker hugs Vin Diesel at the Cannes Film festival screening of 'The Fast and the Furious'
Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty

"It’s so hard for me to watch it because there’s so many moments in this movie that you see, that I see differently," Diesel told the crowd, per Variety. "The scene that you see, I see the moment Pablo told me he had a 1-year-old daughter."

Turning his attention to Meadow, Diesel shared a touching remark that she made earlier in the day.

"She said, 'I’m 27, and I’m watching this film that my father made at 27,’ and I thought, ‘How profound,'” Diesel said, pulling her in for a hug. "Meadow has been such a source of strength, and I know he’d be so proud of you."

Diesel and Meadow were joined at the Cannes event by fellow Fast & Furious franchise stars Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, along with producer Neal H. Mortiz and Universal chairman Donna Langley.

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Prior to the screening, Diesel made a lengthy speech, shouting out the various people who made the film possible and also thanked Meadow for joining him at the event.

"This is a film where brotherhood was introduced to our millennium, by myself and my brother Pablo," Diesel said. "And the person that was not going to let me come alone here to represent that brotherhood is Meadow Walker."

He also thanked the franchise's dedicated fanbase, sharing, "I’m gonna go and shed a tear real quick, but I just want you all to know, the only reason why we’re making the finale of Fast for 2028 is because of each and every one of you that has given us your hearts and your loyalty. Each and every one of you that has felt like you were a part of our family, you make us have to continue. You make us want to make you all proud. What you’re gonna watch tonight is the beginning of one word, and that word is love. I love you all.”

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in 'The Fast and the Furious'
Credit: Universal

Walker died at 40 in 2013. The actor was riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle when the driver, racing pro Roger Rodas, lost control of Walker's Porsche Carrera GT and struck a concrete lamp post in Santa Clarita, Calif. The car caught fire upon impact, and both men were pronounced dead when authorities arrived on the scene.

Meadows subsequently established the Paul Walker Foundation in 2015, which supports initiatives benefitting wildlife conservation and ocean protection, and awarding an annual scholarship benefitting a student aspiring to dedicate their lives to such disciplines.

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Meanwhile, the Fast & Furious franchise is set to conclude with one last film in April 2027. Last year, Diesel revealed that one of his stipulations for returning to the franchise was that Dom and Walker's Brian O’Conner be reunited.

Diesel offered no details on how Brian's return will be achieved, though Fast & Furious wouldn't be the first franchise to navigate the return of a beloved character after the death of their original actors. CGI technology has, controversially, been utilized to bring back Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Christopher Reeve's Superman in The Flash, and Ian Holm's Ash in Alien: Romulus, to name a few.

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