Among the cast members of "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" who are of Asian descent is Canadian-Chinese actor Kris Wu, who is a former member of the K-Pop male group EXO. Recently, Vin Diesel, the lead star of the upcoming action sequel, enlisted Wu's help for a scene that requires Mandarin.
On Feb. 28, Sunday, Diesel took to Instagram to share a photo of himself with Wu on set. In the caption, he wrote, "Kris Wu helping me with my Mandarin for a scene in The NEW xXx. The Return of Xander Cage!"
Wu was born in China but he was raised in Vancouver, Canada, making him fluent in English aside from Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese and Korean. Shortly after being included in the cast of "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage," he became the first Asian celebrity to play in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
In an interview with Vogue, Wu said being able to participate in the All-Star game and team up with Tracy McGrady made him feel like he was living a dream. He added, "I was a bit nervous in the game, but I did my best to score six points."
Aside from Wu, the other Asian members in the "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" cast are Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa and Deepika Padukone. Jet Li was originally in the cast but he was replaced by the "Ip Man" star.
Apparently, the film has a diverse cast as it includes white actors, black actors and Asian actors. Among its white actors are Conor McGregor, Andrey Ivchenko, Al Sapienza, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose, Toni Collette and Hermione Corfield while its black actors include Samuel L. Jackson and Ice Cube.
Recently, Miss Colombia 2014 Ariadna Gutierrez was also included in the cast. Like McGregor, this will be the first feature film role of the beauty queen who controversially finished first runner-up to Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
Diesel is currently in Dominican Republic, where several scenes of the film will be shot. On Feb. 29, Monday, he was spotted riding a skateboard around the hills of Navarrete, Santiago, Dominican Today reported.
Meanwhile, watch Diesel sing "See You Again" for the late "Furious 7" actor Paul Walker at the MTV Movie Awards 2015 here: