Paul Walker and Vin Diesel would have been celebrating the wrap of Fast & Furious 7 shooting together, but instead Diesel said the movie’s completion was a tragic reminder of his friend’s passing.
In an appearance on Live! with Kelly and Michael this week, Diesel said he is still dealing with the loss of Paul Walker , who was killed in a car accident in November.
“It’s a heavy thing,” Diesel said. “I grew up in the bouncer world, and we lost people while we were bouncing. But the brotherhood in Paul Walker was something completely different.”
“We grew up in the business together, and we became famous together, and we represented the biggest franchise together. He was my partner,” Diesel added. “I’ve been acting all my life and they don’t teach you in acting, how to mourn someone and simultaneously pretend they’re in a scene with you.”
Paul Walker was replaced in Fast & Furious 7 with his brothers, Caleb and Cody, who stood in for his character Brian O’Conner.
Completing filming normally would have been a happy occasion for the longtime friends, but instead Diesel said it was quite the opposite.
“It’s one of the darker moments in this, in my journey,” Diesel said. “It’s a rough one.”
Vin Diesel has been open with his mourning of Paul Walker, who he said was like a brother. Just days after Walker’s death, he wrote about how, after learning the tragic news, he immediately boarded a plane to offer his support to Paul’s mother .
Instead she ended up comforting him, Diesel noted.
“I thought they needed my strength, but realized when I got there and broke down before his family, that it was I who needed theirs,” Diesel wrote on Facebook . “His mother hugged me and said I am so sorry… I said sorry? You’re the mother who lost a son?… She said yes, but you lost your other half…”
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker can be seen on-screen for the last time in Fast & Furious 7 , which is slated for release April 3, 2015.