Paul Walter Hauser Disses Vin Diesel Comparison: ‘I Like to Think I’m on Time and Approachable’

The moment came during a typical press junket moment while Hauser was speaking with Cinemablend, who shared it on their X/Twitter and Instagram social pages Tuesday.

“You’re like Vin Diesel now,” the interviewer commented innocently, but Hauser did not take that comparison all that well.

“Please don’t say that,” he replied. “I like to think I’m on time. And approachable.”

He went on to contextualize his reaction, adding, “I love people but when I hear stories about Hollywood actors who get paid really well and mistreat people, I out them constantly. And it’s a blast.”

He certainly put the face of the Fast & Furious franchise on blast. TooFab has reached out to Diesel’s reps for comment.

The comment after a long-standing feud erupted between Fast franchise co-stars Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. They first joined forces for Fast Five in 2011, and five years later Johnson called out unspecified cast members of that year’s film, The Fate of the Furious.

“Some [male costars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don’t,” he wrote at the time. “The ones that don’t are too chicken s–t to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses.”

“When you watch this movie next April and it seems like I’m not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you’re right,” he added. Johnson didn’t name names, but a follow-up post thanking co-stars by name added to online speculation when he did not mention Diesel.

While there are unsubstantiated reports of Diesel holding up F&F productions by being late to set have circulate for years, as well as behavioral complaints, Diesel told Men’s Health in 2021 that the feud between him and Johnson was the result of his “tough love” toward the wrestler-turned-actor.

“My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be,” he said of Johnson’s Hobbs role. “As a producer to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know.”

He went on to say that he was pretty hands-on with Johnson’s performance, saying, “Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks. That’s something that I’m proud of, that aesthetic. That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I’d have to do in order to get performances in anything I’m producing.”

In 2019, Johnson jumped out of the main franchise for spinoff film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, alongside Jason Statham. This only added fuel to the speculation of intense issues between him and Diesel, the face and star of the main franchise.

However, things appear to have cooled in the intervening years, with Johnson’s Hobbs returning to the main series for a credits appearance on Fast X. Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in June 2023 that Johnson would be back for another Fast & Furious film, after previously saying he was done with the franchise.

After his cameo appearance, Johnson posted to his social media, “Last summer Vin and I put all the past behind us. We’ll lead with brotherhood and resolve – and always take care of the franchise, characters & FANS that we love.”

However, there are reports Diesel will not be a part of Johnson’s upcoming F&F film, which will serve as a bridge between Fast X and Fast 11. It will reportedly star other cast members of the sprawling franchise, though. So maybe things haven’t cooled all the way down just yet.

Paul Walter Hauser, meanwhile, can be heard starring in the mega-blockbuster (already!) Inside Out 2, currently dominating theaters around the world.