Rita Moreno recalls grandson Justin's role in casting her as Vin Diesel's onscreen grandma in 'Fast and Furious X'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFRONIA: Rita Moreno has admitted that her grandson Justin told Vin Diesel to cast her in 'Fast X'. After initially meeting Vin at a Hollywood event "a number of years ago," the 91-year-old big screen star, who made history as the first Latina actress to win an Oscar for her role as Anita in 1961's 'West Side Story', has joined the 'Fast and Furious' franchise.
In a conversation with Total Film, Moreno remembered how her grandson, Justin, requested that Vin Diesel use his actual grandmother as the character's fictional grandmother. Moreno had maintained contact with Diesel, who she had first met at some sort of Hollywood event years before and who had admitted that he was an admirer of her work.
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'You really should have my grandmother in the movie'
Moreno recalled, "We got together afterwards and had drinks. My grandson Justin, who is an enormous fan of his, collared Vin and said, 'You really should have my grandmother in the movie. She could be the kind of feisty old woman that grabs you by the nose and tells you off.' Justin, to this day, is absolutely convinced that he cast me," as reported by SYFY.
'That's why I love doing the character'
She was "truly the boss' boss" in the movie, according to Moreno. She added, "She really is those kinds of things. That's why I love doing the character - she's truly the boss' boss. But she would never do something like Justin described." In the meanwhile, Moreno thought back on her role as Valentina in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story," as per reports.
About Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is one of the select few artists that have earned an EGOT (Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy). Although she was reared in the adjacent, smaller Juncos, which lacked a hospital, Rosita Dolores Alvero was born there on December 11, 1931, to farmer Francisco José "Paco" Alvero and seamstress Rosa Mara (Marcano). In 1937, Rita's mother left her allegedly unfaithful husband and Rita's younger brother behind and traveled to New York City with Rita. Rita's working life started before she was a teenager. She began working as a professional dancer in New York nightclubs when she was nine years old. She had her first acting job at age 11, subtitling Spanish-language versions of American films, as reported by IMDB.