Fast and the Furious franchise stars then and now

By Wonderwall.com Editors 5:43am PDT, Jun 27, 2021

It feels like just yesterday that the late Paul Walker teamed up with Vin Diesel, Tyrese, Ludacris and Jordana Brewster for the first installment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise. In honor of the release of the ninth film in the franchise, "F9," which hit theaters on June 25, 2021, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the biggest stars of the series and how they've changed over the years.

Keep reading to catch up with the cast of one of our favorite blockbuster film franchises…

Vin Diesel has starred as Dominic Toretto, a carjacker-turned-mechanic and street racer, since 2001's "The Fast and the Furious," though he missed out on 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious."

Since making his debut as Dom Toretto, Vin Diesel has starred in the "Guardians of the Galaxy," "xXx" and "Riddick" franchises. In addition to lending his voice to his characters of Groot and Baby Groot in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," Vin also voiced Dom in 2019's "Fast & Furious Spy Racers" television series and starred in the 2020 film "Bloodshot." Vin has a series of projects on the way, including the films "Avatar 2," "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," "Furya" and "Fast & Furious 10." The action star welcomed three children with longtime girlfriend Paloma Jiménez: daughter Hania in 2008, son Vincent in 2010 and daughter Pauline — whom they named after Vin's late "Fast & Furious" franchise co-star and friend Paul Walker — in 2015.

Paul Walker starred as Brian O'Conner, an undercover LAPD officer who later joined Dom's crew, starting with 2001's "The Fast and the Furious."

On Nov. 30, 2013, during a break from filming 2015's "Furious 7," Paul Walker died in a car crash at a charity event in Valencia, California, leaving behind teen daughter Meadow Rain. He was 40. (His look-alike brothers filled in for him in scenes he had yet to shoot for the seventh installment in the franchise.) He also had roles in films like "Joy Ride," "Into the Blue," "Flags of our Fathers" and "Takers" before his sudden death.

Tyrese Gibson joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as Brian's childhood pal, ex-con speedster Roman Pearce, with 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious."

Tyrese has since appeared in "Four Brothers," "Annapolis," "Ride Along 2" and "Legion." He's also starred in the "Transformers" franchise since 2007, appeared on TV's "Star" in 2017, published two books, released four studio albums and earned five Grammy nominations. Next up, Tyrese will star in the films "Rogue Hostage," "Morbius," "Dangerous" and "Desert Eagle." In 2009, he divorced Norma Mitchell after two years of marriage and a lengthy battle over custody of their daughter, Shayla, who was born in 2007, ensued. The multi-hyphenate married Samantha Lee Gibson on Valentine's Day in 2017 and they welcomed a daughter, Soraya, in 2018, before splitting in 2020.

Ludacris joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as mechanic and tech expert Tej Parker with 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious."

Since joining the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Ludacris has appeared in films like "Crash," "Hustle & Flow," "RocknRolla," "May Payne" and "No Strings Attached." He also voiced a character in 2018's "Show Dogs," released six studio albums, won three Grammys and has hosted the "Fear Factor" reboot on MTV since 2017. He'll next appear in the forthcoming film "End of the Road" alongside Queen Latifah and Beau Bridges. He married longtime girlfriend Eudoxie Mbouguiengue on Christmas Eve in 2014, a little more than a year after he welcomed a daughter, Cai, from an affair with friend Tamika Fuller. The rapper-actor and wife Eudoxie welcomed their first child together, daughter Cadence, in 2015 and in May 2021 announced that they're expecting again. (Luda also has a teen daughter, Karma, from a previous relationship.)

Eva Mendes joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as undercover U.S. customs agent Monica Fuentes with 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious." She also had a cameo in 2011's "Fast Five."

Eva Mendes went on to star in films like "Hitch," "Ghost Rider" and "The Other Guys." She and Ryan Gosling fell for each other while co-starring in 2013's "The Place Beyond the Pines," and she later appeared in his directorial debut, 2015's "Lost River." Eva, who's been designing an eponymous fashion line through New York & Co. since 2013, took a break from acting after that film to focus on her family: She and Ryan welcomed daughters Esmeralda in 2014 and Amada in 2016.

Michelle Rodriguez has starred as Letty Ortiz, Dom's longtime love who also has a knack for mechanics and high-octane racing, since 2001's "The Fast and the Furious."

After starring in "The Fast and the Furious," Michelle Rodriguez starred as Ana Lucia Cortez on "Lost" from 2005 to 2010. She's also enjoyed major roles in the "Resident Evil" franchise, "Blue Crush," "Avatar," the big-screen adaptation of "S.W.A.T." and more. She's set to star in 2023's "Dungeons & Dragons" film alongside Chris Pine and "Bridgerton" star Regé-Jean Page. In 2014, Michelle made headlines for romancing Cara Delevingne and Zac Efron within just a few months of each other.

Jordana Brewster has starred as Mia Toretto, Dom's sister and Brian's longtime love, since 2001's "The Fast and the Furious."

Since debuting as Mia in "The Fast and the Furious," Jordana Brewster has appeared in films like "Annapolis," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" and "American Heist." She's also headlined "Lethal Weapon" and "Dallas" and had stints on "Secrets and Lies," "American Crime Story," "Dark Blue" and "Chuck." In addition to reprising her role in "F9," Jordana will appear in 2021's "The Integrity of Joseph Chambers." She'll also star in the forthcoming romance drama "On Our Way." In 2007, she married producer Andrew Form, and they welcomed two sons via surrogate: Julian in 2013 and Rowan in 2016. Following their 2020 split, Jordana has been in a relationship with tech CEO Mason Morfit.

Dwayne Johnson joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as DSS Agent Luke Hobbs, who later teams up with Dom's crew, with 2011's "Fast Five."

Since joining the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Dwayne Johnson has headlined a slew of action films and action-comedies including "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," "Hercules," "San Andreas," "Central Intelligence," "Baywatch," "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," "Rampage" and "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw." He also voiced Maui in "Moana" and starred as Spencer Strasmore on "Ballers." Since 2021, Dwayne has starred on and executive produced NBC's "Young Rock," a sitcom based on his upbringing. 2021 will bring the films "Jungle Cruise" and "Red Notice," with "Black Adam," "San Andreas 2," "Doc Savage" and "Big Trouble in Little China" in the pipeline. In 2015, The Rock welcomed daughter Jasmine with longtime girlfriend Lauren Hashian, and daughter Tiana arrived in 2018. Dwayne and Lauren married in 2019. The wrestler-actor's adult daughter, Simone, with ex-wife Dany Garcia (who's served as his manager since 2008) is following in his footsteps and training with the WWE as the brand's first fourth-generation wrestler.

Elsa Pataky joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as Brazilian patrol officer Elena Neves, who has a short-lived love affair with Dom before joining Hobbs at the DSS, in 2011's "Fast Five." She starred in the next three installments in the franchise, though her character tragically died midway through 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."

Mom of three Elsa Pataky hasn't worked much in Hollywood outside of the "Fast & Furious" franchise, though the Australia-based Spanish actress appeared in 2013's "All Things to All Men," 2015's "The Wine of Summer" and 2018's "12 Strong," in which she portrayed the wife of real-life husband Chris Hemsworth's character. The duo, who relocated to his native Australia to raise their family, met in early 2010 and tied the knot that same year. They welcomed daughter India in 2012 and twin sons Tristan and Sasha in 2012. In 2022, she'll star in the action thriller "Interceptor."

Jason Statham joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as mercenary Deckard Shaw with a cameo at the conclusion of 2013's "Fast & Furious 6." He served as the primary villain in 2015's "Furious 7" before aligning with Dom's crew in 2017's "The Fate of the Furious." He also starred alongside Dwayne Johnson, Vanessa Kirby and Idris Elba in 2019's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw," the first spinoff in the franchise.

Since joining the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Jason Statham has starred in "Homefront," "The Expendables 3," "Wild Card," "Spy" and "Mechanic: Resurrection" and, more recently, 2019's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" and 2021's Guy Ritchie-directed "Wrath of Man." In 2016, he and longtime love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley confirmed their engagement. They welcomed their first child, son Jack Oscar, the following year.

Sung Kang joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as street racer Han "Seoul-Oh" Lue with 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." He starred in the next three installments in the franchise before his character's seeming death at the conclusion of "Fast & Furious 6."

Sung Kang went on to star in films like "Live Free or Die Hard," "War" and "Ninja Assassin." He also had a four-episode stint on "MADtv," starred on the short-lived series "Gang Related" and portrayed Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mak on "Power" from 2017 to 2020. In 2021, he appeared in the made-for-television movie "High & Tight," lent his voice to Dang Hai in Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon" and appeared in the film "Snakehead." He has three projects on the way: "Lisey's Story," "Power Book II: Ghost" and Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi series. He's also back for "F9."

Gal Gadot joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as Gisele Yashar, a liaison to a drug trafficker who teams up with Dom's crew and falls in love with Han, in 2009's "Fast & Furious." She appeared in two more installments in the franchise before her character's death at the conclusion of "Fast & Furious 6."

After making her feature film debut in "Fast & Furious," Gal Gadot appeared in movies like "Date Night," "Knight and Day," "Triple 9," "Criminal" and "Keeping Up with the Joneses." She became a household name in 2016 when she portrayed Wonder Woman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and soon returned to the role in "Wonder Woman" and its 2020 sequel as well as "Justice League." She'll next star in the films "Death on the Nile," "Red Notice," "Irena Sendler" and "Cleopatra." Gal and Israeli real estate developer Yaron Varsano, whom she wed in 2008, have welcomed two daughters together: Alma in 2011 and Maya in 2017. In March 2021, she announced that they're expecting their third daughter.

Lucas Black joined the "Fast & Furious" franchise as Sean Boswell, an American high schooler living in Tokyo, with 2006's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." He also had a cameo in 2015's "Furious 7."

Lucas Black went on to appear in films like "Get Low," "Legion," "Promised Land" and "42." He starred as Christopher LaSalle on "NCIS: New Orleans" (pictured) from 2014 to 2019. In 2010, he wed longtime love Maggie O'Brien. They welcomed a daughter, Sophie Jo, in 2011 and a son, Augusta "Gus" York, in 2015. They've since welcomed another daughter.

Matt Schulze portrayed Vince, Dom's immature childhood pal, in 2001's "The Fast and the Furious" and 2011's "Fast Five."

Matt Schulze went on to land roles in "Blade II," "The Transporter," "Extract" and more before returning to the role of Vince in 2011's "Fast Five." A year later, he reportedly became a dad when he and his girlfriend welcomed son Hendrix. He most recently appeared on screen in 2018 as a killer in the movie "Action Point."