Watch Vin Diesel Pay Tribute to Paul Walker at 'Furious 7' Debut
"When the tragedy happened, I lost my best friend," he said.
— -- At an early screening of "Furious 7" in Los Angeles, Vin Diesel made sure to pay tribute to his late friend Paul Walker, nearly a year and half after his sudden death.
"This was a very personal and important film to us," he said. "Every time I saw the movie at the premieres, Paul Walker and I would go off to the side. He would always tell me, 'Vin, the best one is still [to come].' I hope tonight, you let Pablo know this is the best one for you guys."
He continued, "This was a labor of love. It was in some ways the hardest movie I ever had to do. Because the relationships that you see on film are so real. When the tragedy happened, I lost my best friend. I lost my brother."
As Diesel, 47, was going to continue and said, "Tonight ...," before he was overtaken with emotion and couldn't talk. Such a beloved actor and friend, someone in the crowd screamed, "You are the man V!" Cries of "We love you" came next.
Someone yelled, "You got family here Vin," to which he replied: "Aw, I love that!"
Watch the whole thing and try not to tear up: