The cast made sure to make an action packed entrance
Vin Diesel made an action packed entrance to the premiere of his latest film xXx: Return of Xander Cage by arriving in a helicopter.
The US actor was flown in on a xXx chopper for the event at London’s O2 Arena while his fellow cast members took a speed boat down the River Thames.
It was a fitting entrance for the stunt-mad actor who plays extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage in the new film.
Speaking on the fire-lined white carpet about reprising his role, he said: “I wanted to make a movie that was just pure fun and I wanted to laugh on screen.”
Leading lady: Ruby Rose looks stunning on the white carpet / Getty Images
Recalling his stunts he said: “The whole opening sequence was truly extreme, snowless skiing and long boarding. It was too much fun.
“But the hardest thing to do was to swim in the turbulent ocean with all my clothes and boots and jewellery on.”
Diesel also showed off his best singing by getting the crowd to join in with an impromptu rendition of It’s A Wonderful World – with a British accent.
Director D. J. Caruso said he was constantly warning Diesel to not take part in some of the scarier stunts.
Work it: Nina Dobrev works a playful pose / AFP/Getty Images
“It was about me trying to get Vin not to do it,” he said. “A lot of the stuff on the motorcycle he wanted to do, and pushed it too far, so I was pulling him back a bit.
“There was one point where we couldn’t find a stunt man to do something so I was like ‘Vin there is no way you’re doing it’.”
Ruby Rose, who plays sniper Adele Wolff, praised her co-star Diesel saying: “There is nobody else like him in the world. He’s a beautiful soul with the biggest heart. To have him as a friend, he makes you feel comforted and happy.”
Rose was joined by her fellow leading ladies Hermione Corfield, Deepika Padukone and Nina Dobrev as well as producer Jeff Kirschenbaum and Thai martial artist Tony Jaa – who also entertained fans with some impromptu karaoke.
The Return of Xander Cage is the third film in the XXX franchise and sees Diesel reprise his role as Cage – despite appearing to have been killed off in the second instalment.
Xander Cage: Vin Diesel made a grand entrance by helicopter / Getty Images
The action blockbuster follows Cage as he secretly returns for a new, tough assignment with his handler Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson).
The premiere also attracted a host of reality TV stars including Collabro, 5 After Midnight, the Tapper family of Gogglebox fame and Ola Jordan whose husband James Jordan is currently hitting headlines in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
source: standard.co.uk
