Vin Diesel remembers Paul Walker at Fate of the Furious premiere

'Pablo, I hope you are proud tonight'

"The Fate Of The Furious" New York Premiere
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Vin Diesel remembered Paul Walker at the world premiere of The Fate of the Furious in New York on Saturday night.

Speaking before the screening at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Diesel ran down the list of actors associated with the eighth Fast & Furious film, before explaining how they were all involved because of his late friend.

“We have a lot of great talent in this movie. But there would be no Dwayne Johnson, who we love, there would be no Jason Statham, who we love, there would be no Charlize, who we love, there would be no Scott Eastwood, who we love, there would be no Kurt Russell, who we love, if it wasn’t for the decades of work that my brother Pablo put into this franchise,” Diesel said, using his nickname for Walker. “When you see this movie, know that this is from love.”

Walker died during production on Furious 7, and that film concluded with a tribute to the actor and an onscreen dedication to his memory. The star does not appear in The Fate of the Furious, but Diesel said he wasn’t far from the cast’s thoughts.

“I just want you to know, there wasn’t a second we made this movie, not a minute … not a day that went by that we weren’t thinking about our brother, Pablo, and how to bring him into the movie and how to represent him and to make something that he will be proud of,” Diesel said. “Pablo, I hope you are proud tonight.”

Walker died in a car crash on Nov. 30, 2013. His mother, Cheryl, and daughter, Meadow, were in attendance at the Fate of the Furious premiere on Saturday night.

The Fate of the Furious is out Friday.

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