Vin Diesel Shares What Paul Walker's Mother Told Him After Actor's Death

It’s been an emotional press tour for Vin Diesel, who filmed the latest “The Fast and the Furious” film, “The Fate of the Furious,” entirely without actor and best friend Paul Walker for the first time.

Walker passed away in a fatal car accident in 2013 while the seventh “Fast” movie was still in production. The cast went on to finish the film, using special effects to finish Walker’s role.

Diesel, who calls Walker his brother, has been incredibly open about his grieving process since the death. In an interview with SiriusXM Entertainment on Monday, Diesel discusses his conversation with Walker’s mother, Cheryl, after the accident.

The actor flew out from Atlanta the night of Walker’s death to go pay his condolences, only to have Walker’s mother apologize and comfort him.

“And I said, ‘Why?’” Diesel told SiriusXM Entertainment. “Why are you apologizing to me? And she says to me, ‘Because you lost your other half.’”

It’s been nearly four years, but Diesel explains in the interview that the nuances of that grief play a big part in the new movie. He explains that he and Walker had a “soul connection.”

Diesel’s conversation with Walker’s mother was the first time he began to feel the impact of his friend’s death.

“She was telling me something that I wasn’t even aware of,” Diesel told SiriusXM. “I wasn’t aware of how profound the loss was.”

It was during a read-through of the first franchise film, “The Fast and The Furious,” that the two actors first met. In the next 13 years, the pair went on to do five “Fast” films together and develop their deep friendship. After Walker’s death, Diesel named his daughter Pauline as a tribute to his dearest friend.

“We’re probably all a little guilty of not telling people how much we love them, while they’re here,” Diesel told SiriusXM. “And my mother only told me this a month ago, that his mother told my mom, ‘Love your child. Just love your child.’”