Vin Diesel is keeping Paul Walker’s memory alive.
The “Fast & Furious” star, 58, paid tribute to his late friend and former costar in an emotional Instagram post on Nov. 30, the 12-year anniversary of Walker’s death.
Walker, who starred alongside Diesel as Brian O’Conner in the “Fast & Furious” film series beginning in 2001, died in a car accident in November 2013. He was 40.
In his post, Diesel reflected that his 10-year-old daughter Pauline, who was named after Walker, never got to meet the actor, “but when I call her name, I know you’re near.”
The “Chronicles of Riddick” star went on to share how he is holding onto the “smallest memories” of Walker, including “that grin” that “would irritate me.” He added, “I’d give anything to be irritated by you one more time.” He also wrote that Walker’s 27-year-old daughter, Meadow, has been “such a gift to my children” and “a true cousin.”
“Filming the first ‘Fast,’ you talked about her with such wonder in your voice,” he said. “You showed how sacred fatherhood would be.”
“When your mom saw me this summer, she looked right through me… Like she was searching for you,” Diesel continued. “Like somehow, through my eyes, she could still find her son. She was right, you know. You were always my other half. I couldn’t have made it without your family’s love.”
Diesel concluded that when he was surrounded by family on Thanksgiving this year, he “found myself wishing some of them knew me the way you did. The way we could sit in silence or communicate without words. Few get that in a life, but we had it from the start.”
Meadow Walker, Paul Walker’s daughter, also marked the anniversary of his death in a Nov. 30 Instagram post, which included a throwback photo of her with her dad as a child.
“12 years without you… I love you forever,” she wrote.
Walker died prior to the release of the seventh “Fast & Furious” film, “Furious 7,” leading his brothers to stand in for him to help complete his scenes for the 2015 movie. This included an ending sequence where Walker’s character drives into the distance after parting ways with Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.
The “Fast & Furious” series has continued on with several more sequels after Walker’s death. An 11th film, which is expected to serve as a finale to the franchise, is in the works.
In June, Diesel revealed he intends to bring back Walker’s character for the upcoming “Fast” film, but he did not explain how this will be accomplished. While speaking to fans at FuelFest, the actor said he has several goals in mind for the next installment, including “reuniting Dom and Brian O’Conner.” Diesel previously told Total Film he “couldn’t imagine this saga ending without truly saying goodbye to Brian O’Conner.”
Diesel has regularly shared tributes to Walker on social media over the years, including in September on what would have been the “She’s All That” star’s 52nd birthday. He wrote at the time, “Not a day passes I don’t think about your absence, but as each year goes by, I smile more at the gifts you left behind, the clarity you offered.”
