Dominic Toretto

Dominic Toretto

Dominic Toretto was the main anti-hero and secondary protagonist of the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious as well as the focus in the majority of it's sequels. He is portrayed in the film by actor Vin Diesel.

Character Summary

Toretto was born August 29, 1976. His father was a professional stock car driver who earned a reputation on the track and his family owned and ran a market and cafe shop. As a child, Dominic befriended the likes of Vince during the third grade. At some point he also befriended Letty Ortiz, a neighborhood local, around the time she was ten years old, based on their shared interest in cars. However, he never took a romantic interest in her until she was sixteen years old.

Dominic's father was a proactive figure in his life. He helped Mia with her homework, reading ahead of chapters to help her the following day. The Toretto's also attended church and held family barbecues for their neighbors. Dominic helped his father build what would become the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, "900 horses of Detroit Muscle". His father used the Charger to participate in the Los Angeles County Raceway in nine seconds.

During the last stock car race of the season of an unknown year, Dominic watched as his father was run off the track by another racer, Kenny Linder, when Linder's car clipped his bumper. Dominic's father was killed instantly when his stock car crashed into the wall at 120 miles per hour and burst into flames. Dominic remembered hearing his father screaming, but the people who witnessed the accident explained that his father had died before his car exploded. Dominic had been the one screaming.

A week following the accident, Dominic encountered Linder and when given the opportunity, Dominic attacked Linder, beating him with a wrench. Dominic only intended to hit him once but lost control and kept attacking Linder it until he couldn't lift his arm anymore. The result of Linder injuries rendered him unable to race, Dominic was banned for life from the tracks. Dominic was presumably sent to Lompoc Prison for assaulting Linder. In addition to keeping up his family's business, Dominic also engaged in major crimes with his friends, such as stealing major appliances from transporting trucks using their cars. Dominic also participated in illegal street races for money and to sustain his passion for racing.

Since Dominic’s release from prison, he continued running his family’s market with his sister Mia. In addition he established a local automotive shop, which doubled as a front for his illegal street racing ventures at night. Dominic and his friends remained tied to the criminal life. In order to make more money on the side to support their livelihoods, they committed a series of highway robberies. Using black Honda Civics, Dominic, Jesse, Vince, Leon and Letty attacked four trucks and stole $1.2 million worth of major electronics. The only identifiers the truck drivers could give the Los Angeles Police Department were the neon-green lights on the underbelly of the Coupes.

Brian O'Connor, a undercover LAPD officer under the alias "Brian Earl Spilner", is assigned to find out who is stealing the merchandise. Three weeks into his undercover assignment, he visits Toretto’s Market & Café to speak with Mia and order a tuna sandwich. Dominic, inside the market at the time, remains at the back of the store and listens in on their conversation. Following the arrival of his friends, Vince and Brian get into a fight about the number of times he’s visited the market.

Mia and Letty demanded that Dominic break up the fight. Reluctantly, Dominic leaves the market and intervenes in Vince’s fight with Brian. He questions the false name on Brian’s license and tells him to never visit their market again. When Brian protests, Dominic doubly fires him Harry’s store, The Racer's Edge.

Later that night, Dominic and the others congregate at a local street race. Prior to the preparation of the race, Letty catches him flirting with two girls, Camille and Monica. When she doesn’t buy that he was merely speaking with them, he turns his attention to his friend Hector, who announces he accumulated over $2,000 worth of buy ins for the quarter mile race. With no money, Brian offers the pink slip to his 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

If he loses, the winner of the race gets his car. Dominic and the other racers oblige his terms. During the quarter mile, Dominic, driving a 1993 Mazda RX-7 is able to beat everyone, winning the money and Brian’s car. Brian, who comes in dead last, proudly claimed that he almost had Dominic. Unimpressed, Dominic relays that Brian never had him and was guaranteed to lose his car.

Leon warns Dominic and the other racers of the police’s arrival. Dominic runs with the rest of them. Driving into a parking garage, Dominic hides his Mazda and continues his escape on foot. When he is caught by the police, he runs down an alley. Brian appears in time and gives him a ride. Brian evades the police with little incident. Dominic assures Brian that he’s gained his trust, but wasn’t keeping his car.

When he asks if Brian ever committed any felonies, Brian downplays his offenses. Using the information he was given by Jesse (who ascertained Brian’s falsified records online), Dominic brings up his history of grand theft auto. Brian shifts the conversation to Dominic and asks if he ever did time in prison. Dominic mentions his two year stint at Lompoc, a place he would die to avoid.

Dominic and Brian are surrounded by Johnny Tran and his crew. Dominic, realizing too late that they’ve strayed into Tran’s territory, tries to explain that it was an unavoidable mistake made by his “new mechanic”, Brian. Tran questions the ownership of the Mitsubishi. Dominic deflects Brian’s immediate association to the Mitsubishi and tells him that he doesn’t own it on account not taking delivery. Tran declares the car belongs to no one and appears to leave. However, he doubles back and destroys the Mitsubishi. During the beginning of their hike back to the city, Dominic explains that bad blood between himself and Tran was the result of a business deal gone sour and sleeping with his sister.

They catch taxi back to the Toretto House. When Brian returns, Dominic decides to invite him. He uses Brian’s presence against his crew to remind them that none of them thought to look for him when they escaped the street race and returned to his house. Dominic creates more discord between Vince and Brian by offering Brian the Corona he takes from Vince. Dominic is forced to leave the first floor of the house to entertain Letty, who wanted a message. Before heading upstairs, Dominic reminds Brian that he owes him a ten second car.

The following day, Brian arrives to Dominic’s garage with a rusted 1994 Toyota Supra MK IV. While Dominic is unimpressed with the state of the car, but Jesse is confident it can be restored. During the repairs of the Supra, Brian slowly gains Dominic’s trust. His cover is nearly blown by Vince, who correctly assumes that Brian is a cop when he and Dominic catch him leaving Hector’s garage. An uncertain Dominic chooses to believe that Brian was trying to figure out what Hector and Johnny Tran were going to use on their cars for the Race Wars event. Brian takes them to Tran’s garage, where they find several electronics similar to the ones stolen from the four truck robberies and cars without engines.

When Dominic learns that Brian has begun seeing his sister, Mia, Dominic warns Brian he'll break his neck if he hurts her. Brian’s confidence that he wouldn’t hurt Mia lead to Dominic showing him his father’s 1970 Dodge Charger. Dominic explains the history of the car he built with his father and the regrettable actions that led to his attacking a stock car racer, Kenny Linder, who he believed was responsible for the stock car accident that killed his father.

With only thirty six hours to pin the truck thefts on Dominic, Brian becomes aggressive with his attempts to earn Dominic’s trust. Following a brief race with a Ferrari owner, Dominic and Brian have lunch at a grill. Brian comes forward with his assumptions, that Dominic was earning more money than the market and garage could get him and asked for an in on Dominic’s side business. Instead of giving him an in, Dominic gives Brian the directions to the Race Wars.

At the event, Dominic and his crew set up and prepare for the races. Jesse loses his Volkswagen Jetta to Johnny Tran in a race, he flees the scene with Johnny’s car. Angry, Tran accuses Dominic of selling him out to the police. Dominic attacks Tran, declaring that he would never sell anyone out to the police. When he is pulled away from Tran, Dominic and Vince appear to leave the event. Later that night, Dominic gets into a fight with Mia, who tries to stop him from committing the fifth truck theft with Letty, Vince and Leon.

He refuses to listen to her and leaves with the others. They meet at a lookout outside of Thermal where the Honda Civics was hidden. Letty, Vince and Leon express uncertainty about trying to attack another truck without Jesse. Dominic assures the crew that they would be taking a “long vacation” after the fourth truck score and tells Letty that he had a dream about their being in Mexico together.

On the road, Dominic and Vince position themselves in front of the truck. When Vince is able board the front of the truck, the driver fires on him with a shotgun. The crew’ plans fall apart when Vince is tangled into the harpoon wire and stuck on the side of the truck. Letty is driven off the road and Dominic’s Civic is damaged by shotgun fire.

Dominic is unable to reach Vince and is forced to stop. He is later picked up by Leon, who helped Letty after her car was run off the road. He helps Mia and Brian try to stabilize Vince, who was critically wounded. Brian exposes his identity was a cop in order to get Vince immediate help from a hospital. When Vince was airlifted out of the desert, Dominic and Mia join Leon and Letty and leave Brian behind.

Back at the house, Dominic prepares to search for Jesse when Brian arrives at the house in his Supra. He tries to get Dominic to surrender himself to the authorities. Dominic angrily refuses, explaining that he had to find Jesse before Tran did. When Brian offers to call in the plates on the Volkswagen when Jesse returns to Dominic’s house and apologies for his actions. Moments after he arrives, Tran and his cousin, Lance Nguyen, arrive on their motorcycles and fire on the house. Jesse is killed in their drive by. Dominic follows after Brian, who pursued Tran and Lance immediately after their shooting. Dominic manages to catch up with them in time to force Lance off the road. When he catches up with Brian, he has shot and killed by Tran. He leaves immediately afterward and stops at an intersection.

Without saying it, Dominic tells Brian that he intends on escaping when he makes a run for the train tracks. Brian pursues Dom in quarter mile race. As a train approaches, Dominic's car begins to malfunction. He and Brian are able to pass the tracks, narrowly missing the train as it barreled toward them. Dominic fails to pay attention to the road afterward and is side swiped by an unexpected truck and his car flips over. Dominic survives the roll the Dodge makes, but the car is too damaged to use. With the police on the approach, Brian gives Dominic the keys to his Supra, stating that he still owed him a ten-second car. Dominic takes the keys and escapes.