"It did something to my soul, to see her want to honor her father and to contribute in her own way to his life's work," Vin Diesel said about the late Paul Walker's daughter Meadow Walker.
Meadow Walker is paying tribute to her dad Paul Walker who died in a car crash at age 40 in November 2013. The late star was best known for his roles in seven films from the Fast & Furious franchise. He was last seen in Furious 7, which debuted in 2015, where his brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, starred as body doubles for his character Brian O'Conner to help complete the film. Now, Paul Walker's daughter is making a cameo in the latest Fast & Furious film, Fast X.
"It did something to my soul, to see her want to honor her father and to contribute in her own way to his life's work," Diesel, 55, said per PEOPLE. "It meant everything." Vin Diesel was incredibly close with his former co-star and continues to do everything he can to keep his friend's legacy alive. He even named his own daughter Pauline in honor of Paul Walker. He's also been a father figure to Meadow even walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. Meadow is Diesel's goddaughter, but he treats her like his own.
Vin Diesel beamed with pride and got emotional as he and Meadow appeared for the premiere of the Fast X film in Rome. He captioned a photo of the two, "Such a proud moment…@meadowwalker standing before the Colosseum at our Rome premiere. A dream come true. Thank you all for the love… #FastX"
Meadow is honoring her father by being part of his on-screen legacy. Meadow stars as a flight attendant who hands Jakob Toretto (John Cena) a few small bottles of alcohol in a cameo for Fast X. She previously shared a behind-the-scenes image from the movie's production on Instagram, writing in her caption that it was "a preview of my cameo in Fast X."
"The first fast was released when I was one year old! I grew up on set watching my father, Vin, Jordana, Michelle, Chris, and more on the monitors," the 24-year-old model wrote alongside the photo. "Thanks to my dad, I was born into the fast family. I can't believe now I get to be up there too. With those who have been around to see me grow up." Meadow concluded her post, writing, "I am so blessed to be able to honor my father's legacy and share this with him forever x."
Meadow was just 15 years old when her father passed away. Last year, Vin Diesel paid tribute to the late actor on his 9th death anniversary. "Nine years… love you and miss you," the Guardians of the Galaxy star captioned a throwback photo of the two on Instagram.
Vin Diesel often mentions the late actor in his posts online. On what would've been his 48th birthday the previous year in September 2021, Diesel wrote a note to Walker on Instagram about how much he misses him, stating, "So much to tell you... normally I would say you wouldn’t believe how I spent your birthday... but by the safe outcome, I know you were there with me in spirit. Miss you. Always."
References:
https://people.com/movies/fast-x-stars-detail-what-meadow-walker-cameo-means-to-them-exclusive/
https://www.instagram.com/meadowwalker/
https://www.instagram.com/vindiesel/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Photo by Kevin Winter (R) Photo by Ernesto S. Ruscio
