10 Weird Ways That Actors Coped With Difficult Shoots
3. Vin Diesel Tried to Get Judi Dench Into Dungeons and Dragons
Sometimes, the tedium of a film set can be just as taxing as the punishing cold or an uncomfortable costume. It's in those moments that actors often bond with each other, sharing stories and playing games. Sometimes strong friendships are formed between unlikely partners.
One such unconventional duo was Vin Diesel and Dame Judi Dench, who worked together on The Chronicles of Riddick. Diesel has talked at length about how he "courted" Dame Judi, by jetting off to London to see her on-stage and sending an excessively large bouquet of flowers to her dressing room. His charm offensive paid off, and Dench agreed to star in the Pitch Black sequel.
One of the rumours from the set of the film was that Diesel, a self-confessed Dungeons and Dragons obsessive, would play Dungeon Master to his fellow cast members - Dame Judi, Thandiwe Newton and Karl Urban - to pass the time between scenes. Sadly, this doesn't appear to be true. Vin Diesel has later said that whilst she was very intrigued in the game, and by the lore's mythological links, he never did convince her to play Dungeons and Dragons with him.