Vin Diesel Talks Playing Groot for Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

Actors who might be thinking about taking on a role in the Marvel film universe, take note: Vin Diesel is currently offering a master class in how much you can get away with revealing about one of the notoriously tight-lipped studio's upcoming projects.

Diesel, who's been all but confirmed as the voice of the sentient tree-like alien Groot in 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' was recently approached by the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex -- and while he stopped just shy of coming out and saying "I AM GROOT!," he did offer a bit of insight into the character's appeal.

"I’m an actor," Diesel reminded the paper. "I can do whatever the f--- I want. As an actor, not everything has to be the most obvious choice." Quoting Steven Spielberg's advice about defying expectations, Diesel argued, "If everybody thinks you’re going to go for this one thing and you flip it entirely and go for the strangest Marvel character, it’s interesting. And when something is interesting, it’s inspiring."

Explaining that he started the Groot rumors -- which were sparked after he posted a picture of the character to his heavily trafficked Facebook page -- because, "I want to be a little cryptic and I want to say something positive. Even if it’s as cryptic as an old, dated image of a character," Diesel shrugged off suggestions that Marvel might be annoyed that he's giving away secrets before the studio's ready to share them. "The last thing they are is mad," he insisted. "I’m pretty open, but I have been secretive about this."

As for how Diesel will manage to fit a Marvel role -- which typically means signing up for multiple movies -- into his busy schedule, he played it close to the vest, only saying, "The audience wanted Vin and Marvel, Vin and Marvel. But I’m too busy to do a six-month role. So what Marvel came up with was really interesting."