Jamie McCarthy/Getty Vin Diesel is praising his friend andFast Xcostar Helen Mirren The actor, 57, shared a note to Instagram on Wednesday, May 28, referring to Mirren as one of his "favorite people on the planet" The Academy Award winner first joined forces with Diesel in the franchise with her performance in 2017'sThe Fate of the Furious ForVin Diesel, it's all about family, and that includesHelen Mirren. TheFast and Furiousactor, 57, shared a heartfelt post toInstagramon Wednesday, May 28, as he raved about his friendship with the Academy Award winner. "Over the weekend, I heard from one of my favorite people on the planet," Diesel wrote in his caption. "Helen Mirren… that Auntie you love to talk to, who has seen everything and always has an outlook on life based on experience, wisdom and compassion." Diesel — who first joined forces with Mirren, 79, in 2017'sThe Fate of the Furiousbefore her later appearances in three otherFast-adjacent films — wrote that it was "interesting how fitting the character she portrays in our saga is." In the franchise, Mirren plays Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw, the Shaw family matriarch. She most recently portrayed the character in 2023'sFast X. "We wanted a European matriarch to expand our universe. Someone uniquely independent and raw, who witnessed brotherhood and its complexities as the mother of the Shaw brothers," Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto in the series, wrote. "Her synchronicity with the Dom character is something the audience gravitates to time and time again. It was her after all who came up with the line 'you're my favorite Yankee.' Haha." "I am blessed that she is a part of our mythology… but even more grateful that she is a part of my family off screen," Diesel concluded. "All love." Vin Diesel/Instagram Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In his carousel post, theFastactor shared snaps of himself and Mirren through the years, filming scenes for the franchise and laughing with each other during promotional events. He closed the post with an image of the pair walking together, arm in arm. Mirren previously toldThe Hollywood Reporterin 2022 that she "begged" Diesel to get her involved in the franchise when they were first introduced at a function years before. Vin Diesel/Instagram "And I was shameless: 'Oh God, I'd just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.' And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: 'I'll see what I can do.' And he did it for me," Mirren said, adding that the actor "found this great little role for me, which was perfect." "I'd just never done anything like that before — one of those big, big movies," she said. "And, in my vanity, I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car." Mirrenopened up furtherabout her chemistry with Diesel during her cover story for PEOPLE's Beautiful Issue that same year. "Chemistry is inexplicable — it just is. You put two people together you think — and movies constantly make this mistake — oh, the chemistry's going to be fantastic! And then it's disastrous," Mirren said. "Even very interesting people, people who have great chemistry offscreen to the extent of maybe, cough, excuse me, even having an affair or marrying each other, onscreen have no chemistry whatsoever. Whereas the most random people just have chemistry. And I adored Vin from the moment I met him." As Diesel explained at the time, Mirren has "a charisma that is timeless." "She has looks to kill and always has. She has a jovial spirit," he said. "But I think the thing that is most attractive about Dame Helen Mirren is the way she makes you feel. She always makes you feel appreciated and loved. And for that I love her forever." Read the original article onPeople
