Vin Diesel Calls Helen Mirren 'Family' in Heartfelt Post: She's 'That Auntie You Love to Talk to'

Published: May 29, 2025

Vin Diesel is praising his friend and Fast X costar Helen Mirren, referring to her as one of his "favorite people on the planet."

The actor, 57, shared a note to Instagram on Wednesday, May 28, gushing about his friendship with the Academy Award winner.

"Over the weekend, I heard from one of my favorite people on the planet," Diesel wrote in his caption. "Helen Mirren… that Auntie you love to talk to, who has seen everything and always has an outlook on life based on experience, wisdom, and compassion."

Diesel, who first joined forces with Mirren, 79, in 2017's The Fate of the Furious, wrote that it was "interesting how fitting the character she portrays in our saga is." In the franchise, Mirren plays Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw, the Shaw family matriarch.

"We wanted a European matriarch to expand our universe. Someone uniquely independent and raw, who witnessed brotherhood and its complexities as the mother of the Shaw brothers," Diesel wrote. "Her synchronicity with the Dom character is something the audience gravitates to time and time again. It was her after all who came up with the line 'you’re my favorite Yankee.' Haha."

"I am blessed that she is a part of our mythology… but even more grateful that she is a part of my family off screen," Diesel concluded. "All love."

In his carousel post, the Fast actor shared snaps of himself and Mirren through the years, filming scenes for the franchise and laughing with each other during promotional events. He closed the post with an image of the pair walking together, arm in arm.

Mirren previously told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that she "begged" Diesel to get her involved in the franchise when they were first introduced at a function years before.

"And I was shameless: 'Oh God, I'd just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.' And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: 'I'll see what I can do.' And he did it for me," Mirren said, adding that the actor "found this great little role for me, which was perfect."