Fast X star Rita Moreno shares the unconventional way she was cast in the upcoming Fast & Furious movie. Directed by Louis Leterrier, Fast X will serve as the penultimate entry in the long-running franchise. The film brings back a host of familiar faces from past installments but also introduces a number of new actors into the saga, including Moreno, who plays Dom’s grandmother.

In a recent interview with Total Film (via SyFy) ahead of Fast X’s release date later this month, Moreno shares that it was actually her own grandson who may be responsible for her casting in the movie. According to the star, she and Diesel have been friends for a number of years, with the Dom Toretto actor attending the West Side Story premiere at her request. Check out Moreno’s full recollection of events below:
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“We got together [after the premiere] and had drinks. My grandson Justin, who is an enormous fan of his, collared Vin and said ‘You really should have my grandmother in the movie. She could be the kind of feisty old woman that grabs you by the nose and tells you off.’ Justin, to this day, is absolutely convinced that he cast me.”

Fast X Has The Biggest Fast & Furious Cast Ever

While Fast & Furious may have started out as a relatively modest story about street racing in LA, the franchise has since ballooned into mega-budget action films with end-of-the-world stakes. Leterrier’s upcoming entry is said to be reining in some of the franchise’s more absurd elements and returning to the series’ roots, but this evidently isn’t the case for Fast X’s huge cast.

Diesel returns as Dom alongside franchise regulars like Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, and Nathalie Emmanuel. Also returning are Helen Mirren, John Cena, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, and Michael Rooker. Leading the group of newcomers is Jason Momoa as Fast X’s villain, Dante.

Joining Momoa are Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchior, Cardi B, and Luis Da Silva Jr. While the Fast X cast is the biggest and most impressive of the franchise so far, it’s less clear how the film will actually balance all of these characters, both new and old. It remains to be seen how Fast X will fare with audiences, but, at the very least, the upcoming 10th Fast & Furious movie will boast a ton of star power.

Source: Total Film (via SyFy)

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