Diesel's "Fast & Furious" co-stars Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster helped dedicate Diesel's star in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. His star is the 2,504th star on the Walk of Fame.
"I love Vin Diesel. On top of just being one of my best friends ... this man dares to dream when people forget to dream," Rodriguez said. "This guy, he looks at the impossible and says, 'When do we start?'"
Diesel wrote, produced, directed and starred in the 1994 independent short "Multi-Facial," which followed him on several auditions in which he is told he is either "too black" or "too white." Diesel's mother is white, and his father is black.
"I guess I've always looked past the exterior and the ambiguity that my existence represents. When I was in my mother's stomach, it was still illegal in parts of America for people of color and white people to procreate," Diesel said.
He went on to say that "Multi-Facial" came from a desperation to be artistic.
"Everyone had known me just as a bouncer in New York because I wasn't able to get any work," he said. "There was something too ambiguous about the way I look that would prevent me from ever getting a star."
The film was shown at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, where it was seen by director Steven Spielberg. The film led Spielberg to create -- specifically for Diesel -- the role of Pvt. Adrian Carparzo in "Saving Private Ryan."
Diesel's other film credits include "xXx"; the Disney comedy "The Pacifier"; "Babylon A.D."; the courtroom drama "Find Me Guilty"; "Boiler Room"; "Knockaround Guy"; the action-thriller "A Man Apart"; and the animated feature "The Iron Giant."
"As my daughter says, 'Dreams do come true,'" Diesel said.
"Riddick" will be released Sept. 6. The action-adventure film is part of a series that began in 2000 with "Pitch Black" and continued in 2004 with "The Chronicles of Riddick."
City News Service contributed to this report.
