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Vin Diesel Says His Role in The Last Witch Hunter Helped Him Cope With Paul Walker’s Death

Paul Walker and Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel says his role in The Last Witch Hunter helped him cope with the death of his close friend Paul Walker

Vin Diesel has previously admitted he's in an "ever continuing process of healing" after the sudden death of his friend Paul Walker, but playing an immortal character in his new movie, The Last Witch Hunter, helped him deal with his grief.

Related: PHOTOS: Paul Walker's life

"Death was a huge theme last year," Diesel, 48, told The Associated Press in an interview on Friday, Oct. 9. "There was something therapeutic about playing this role after going through [Paul's death]."

Diesel and his Fast & Furious costar were close friends, and the action hero has been open about his devastation following Walker's death in a fiery car crash in November 2013. He even named his daughter, born in March this year, Pauline, in honor of his late friend.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars gone too soon

Diesel's character in The Last Witch Hunter is cursed with immortality, which means he isn't able to reunite with his wife and daughter in the afterlife.

"The idea that someone immortal could be so melancholy. 2014 was a tough year for me in some ways — a lot of ways," Diesel told the AP, choking up. "Playing a character that was masking his sorrow — his loss — was very appropriate for the time, because that's what I was doing in real life with the post-Furious 7."

Related: PHOTOS: Paul Walker: His Life In Photos

The Last Witch Hunter hits theaters on Oct. 23, and Furious 8, which will be helmed by Straight Out of Compton director F. Gary Gary, is due out in 2017.

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