For nearly two years, the beef lay dormant, but it apparently never left for good. On June 22, 2021, Men's Health published a lengthy profile on Diesel where he once again discussed his relationship with The Rock. "It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character," he said. "My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be." If that sounds a bit condescending, it's because it is, but it's also a rather different version of the story than either star had told before. "I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances in anything I'm producing," he continued.
Diesel seemed to be implying that his rocky relationship with Johnson was partially meant to elicit a more compelling performance on screen. To be fair, Dom and Hobbs have a sort of frenemies dynamic for much of the franchise, and Hobbs is basically a villain for most of "Fast Five." Yet, Diesel being almost "Felliniesque," as he puts it, doesn't feel like a comprehensive explanation of everything that went on between them. Or, at the very least, that seems to be what Johnson thought afterward.
