Vin Diesel Shares How Paul Walker's Passing Led Him to 'Xander Cage'

Vin Diesel gives the camera a smoldering stare on the cover of #legend magazine’s January/February issue, on newsstands now.

Here’s what the 49-year-old actor had to share with the mag:

On how Paul Walker‘s passing affected his involvement in xXx: Return of Xander Cage: “I was close to not being able to find a window to do xXx. But there was a greater need for me to do it because I had come off the very intense experience of shooting [Furious 7] and all that entailed, including the loss of a brother [Paul]. Because that was so intense, I had to choose xXx. I had to shoot that, literally, so I could smile and laugh again because the character I’d been playing was so brooding and had forced me to go to such a dark place, doing it without someone that I loved.”

On Helen Mirren as a fan: “Helen Mirren, the wonderful and amazing Helen Mirren, accosted me at a Golden Globes party and basically threatened to beat me up if she wasn’t going to be in one.”

For more from Vin, visit HashtagLegend.com.

Also pictured inside: Vin‘s xXx: Return of Xander Cage co-stars Donnie Yen and Ruby Rose on their own #legend magazine covers.