MULTI-FACIAL

BY: Dante Fresse

Multi-Facial is a twenty-five-year-old short drama written, directed, produced, and scored by Vin Diesel. Vin Diesel also stars as the multi-racial actor facing professional and emotional issues while looking for a break. He auditions for various roles that include tough guys, loverboys, and other stereotypical roles. After a series of unsuccessful auditions, Vin Diesel’s character, Mike, is frustrated and angry. Mike remains idealistic throughout his auditions. He doesn’t want to try out for commercials, soap operas, or any role he believes great actors wouldn’t take. But he needs a way in, and he needs a job.

This film shows the difficulty of the “business.” In one audition, Diesel raps, which casting agents love. Then he offers a powerful monologue. Mike continues to expand his identity, and the adoption of different personas is why the short film is called Multi-Facial, as he has multiple acting faces.  

In one of Mike’s audition monologues, he talks from the perspective of a Black man reminiscing about a theater trip with his mother to see Raisin in the Sun. The casting agent dismisses Mike because they want a “long hair type,” and he has short hair. The auditions crush his spirit. It’s either you’re “too blonde, too wholesome, or too bimbo-y,” or that you just don’t fit. Diesel’s project was based on personal experiences and disappointments. But Multi-Facial paid off. Director Stephen Spielberg saw the short and was impressed with Diesel’s acting. So Spielberg wrote a part in Saving Private Ryan specifically for Diesel, and it was his first significant film role.

PROVOKR suggests you watch Multi-Facial, we think you’ll love it.