Vin Diesel heaps praise on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson following end of feud
Published in Entertainment News
Vin Diesel has praised his "dynamic" partnership with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson following the end of their feud.
The two stars previously exchanged barbs amid reports of difficulties on the set of the Fast and Furious movies, but the former wrestler confirmed following his surprise appearance in Fast X in 2023 that he and Vin had "put the past behind" them.
And now, Vin has heaped praise on his former rival's recent performance as his friend Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.
He wrote on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of them on set together: "One of the greatest gifts in life isn't something you can buy, it's the relationships forged along the way.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about The Smashing Machine. What most people don't realize is that Mark Kerr was one of the first friends I made when I moved from New York to California. We hit it off immediately, and the reason is simple: he is genuinely one of the kindest, most warm-hearted people you will ever meet. He actually trained me for the first XXX, so in a beautiful way, he was there at the beginning of my action career. That's the kind of friend he's been from day one.
"And let me celebrate Dwayne. People don't understand what it takes to uphold a global perception every single day. I remember asking our global family who they'd love to see me work with, and a woman named Jan left a comment saying her dream was for me to collaborate with Dwayne.
"What followed became one of the most dynamic pairings in cinema, two strong personalities who pushed each other and created something unforgettable. When he stepped into Hobbs, he did it with full commitment and left an indelible mark on Universal's character hall of fame...
"Mark Kerr is so deserving of this moment… and Dwayne really did it… He brought us back in time and shined doing it.
"Proud of you both.(sic)"
The alleged beef between Vin and Dwayne hit the spotlight in 2016 after the latter called out a "chicken s***" and "candy a**" co-star on Instagram.
And in 2021, Vin, 58, claimed he had given "tough love" to the Jungle Cruise star on their movies in order to get a better performance out of him.
He told Men's Health magazine in 2021: "It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character.
"My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be. 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.'"
His 53-year-old co-star claimed he had "laughed and laughed" when he heard what Vin had to say.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: ""I laughed and I laughed hard. I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I'll leave it at that. And that I've wished them well. I wish them well on 'Fast 9'. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast and Furious movies they do that will be without me."
However, Dwayne made a surprise appearance in a Fast X mid-credit scene and is set to return for an 11th movie in the franchise if it gets off the ground.
Shortly after Fast X was released in 2023, he tweeted: "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 and FANS that we love."













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