While Vin Diesel wasn't initially enthused about the idea of voicing a tree that could only say three words surrounded by a gang of smart-mouthed misfits, James Gunn and president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige likened the role to one of Diesel's favorite fictional gentle behemoths: the Iron Giant. Torn, Diesel tested out the potential role on his kids to see if that's where he'd fit in the MCU.
Speaking to "Extra" host Maria Menounos in a 2013 interview (via YouTube), Diesel said, "I took the book of conceptual art into the room with my kids, and I opened it up to the page where all five Guardians of the Galaxy characters are, and I say, 'Who do you think they want daddy to play?'" The response seemingly was without any hesitation: "My daughter so quickly pointed to Groot. From that moment on, I was Groot." The outcome led Diesel to join one of the most beloved superteams in comic book movie history and allowed him to grow into a role that we can't imagine being without.
