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Death holds no dominion over theFast & Furiousfranchise.
But hes more than ready to come back and reprise the role.
The Fast and the Furiouscame out in 2001.
I started working right away, which is unheard of, inOctober Skyand some good TV.
I was 23, I think, when I got cast inThe Fast and the Furious.
Ive told this story many times I actually passed on the original audition.
At the time, I was like, Oh, Im an artist.
I want to do serious, independent movies.
I didnt know any better.
So my agent called me up, and shes like, Why arent you going in on this?
And Im like, I just didnt respond to the script.
She hung up on me, rightfully so.
She called me back, tried to convince me to go in again.
She hung up on meagain, rightfully so.
Why am I being silly?
I read for the casting director.
I got the part probably within an hour of auditioning.
And I was super pumped, like, This is exciting!
All these cool cars and whatnot.
I had such a great experience.
Because Im from a small town in Washington.
And I said, Mom, no ones ever going to see this movie.
Then the movie came out and it changed my life forever.
I couldnt go anywhere without being recognized.
Still, to this day, its, Jesse, Jesse, Jesse.
I am eternally grateful that the part found me.
It taught me that you never, never know.
That doesnt happen with movies, usually.
They dont usually end up making ten sequels.
At the time, I kept getting cast as the computer guy thats not me.
So I was like, Why?
And Im like, I get it.
I have a very sympathetic face.
Thats why we cared about Jesse when he died.
So, I was like, Okay, Im the quintessential computer guy in Hollywood.
You had to handle all of the heavy gearhead vocabulary.
Was it hard to get a handle on?Im not a car guy.
My dad was a mechanic before he became a police officer.
Hes kind of a mans man and I am not.
I learned, of course, what I was talking about.
But I didnt know much about cars and now Im tied into that world forever.
What did your dad think of your mechanical expertise onscreen?He loved it.
One of our jokes was hed always have me check the fan belt.
So in the movie, you see me working on the car, and Im checking the fan belt.
I did that for him.
And I was like, Oh, oh, I think this is something.
He was very proud.
The movie features this incredible array of turn-of-the-millennium fashion the jeans all low, the shoes platforms.
Do you remember anything about how you were styled in that movie?
I feel like youre wearing a lot of sleeveless muscle shirts and beanies.That was kind of my thing.
I love sleeveless shirts, so that worked out.
I love beanies, so that worked out.
Thats great for Jesse.
I was the quirky one.
But Jesse was the audience.
Jesse was the most relatable.
He was the character that I think a lot of the real car people can relate to.
At least thats what its been over the years.
I think that Jesse was the heart of the movie.
What was the dynamic like with the rest of the cast?
They took us to a racetrack and that was great because we all got to bond.
Nobody was famous yet, you know what I mean?
It was just this pure time.
It was in the summer.
It was three months of just, like, Yeah, this is awesome!
Usually movies have a shelf life.
They come in, they go out, they go to video.
But this movie just keeps going and going.
Lets make nine more sequels.
And Im like, You guys!
We didnt get any confirmation!
I feel like even after, when theyre done, were still going to see spinoffs.
Im guessing at some point down the line, we will see a prequel to the original.
Its the story of my career, because I die often.
This particular death scene was early in your career as a dier.
Do you remember what it was like getting to shoot that scene?Yes, I do.
I had to juggle the squibs that I had on my body.
I had to juggle the timing of the Jetta being shot up behind me.
I remember, Rob was like, Come on, Chad!
No, no, you got another one in you.
And Paul Walker ran from that driveway at [the] Toretto house and gave me the biggest hug.
He was like, That was so awesome, dude.
Thats the kind of guy he was, just an amazing soul.
When you watch that film, hes just so young and glowing.
You even have a line thats like, Hes beautiful.That was improvised, actually.
Rob was like, You guys just go over there and start saying some things.
I think that was actually the first day of filming.
And me and Johnny [Strong] were over there doing our thing.
And I looked over at Paul and was like, Thats a good-looking guy.
That was not in the script.
And The Rock, who heals his broken arm with the force of his will.
But characters started coming back I think Michelle Rodriguezs was first.
4, people were like, Yo, where are you?
And that has become the thing.
I cant go anywhere [without] people being like, Yo, why arent they bringing you back?
And Im like, Man, Ive been here in this for the last 20 years.
We call it the Bring Back Jesse Jetta.
It just needs to get to Vin, you know?
Its tough that I got killed.
It would be really amazing if like, No.
10, they brought me back around, 20 years later.
I think so many of the fans would love to see some of the original cast come through again.
Heres the thing they can do it.
They can bring back anybody they want.
If youre going to be doing aJurassic Parkcrossover, Im like, Come on guys, come on.
You have to bring me back, like.
Have you come up with your own story lines that you would like for Jesse?
How would you imagine him coming back?
Would he be a villain?A villain would be great.
Im actually filming a newTikTok seriescalledJesses Furiouswith a guy on TikTok namedSemiStupid.
He does a lot of amazing videos.
Hes been hiding out somewhere.
Hes been working on his cars.
Hes been very quiet.
Or maybe I was in a coma for 20 years.
