Vin Diesel says that Sir Michael Caine has had a significant impact on his life.

The Fast and Furious star has taken to Instagram to share a picture of himself alongside The Italian Job legend - just days after he presented the 92-year-old actor with a lifetime achievement award at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia - where he gave an insight into the friendship they have.

Diesel captioned his post: "I wanted to wait until you and your family were safely home in London before sharing this.

"The world saw me hand you a Lifetime Achievement Award this. Your wife, daughters and grandchildren watching. What they didn't see was everything else... When we first met, I was drowning in a fame I never learned to carry. You taught me grace. Resolve. How to stand in my light when I didn't know how."

The 58-year-old star - who appeared alongside Caine the 2015 movie The Last Witch Hunter - described how the veteran actor had offered him support in the aftermath of his Fast and Furious co-star Paul Walker's tragic death in a car accident in 2013.

Diesel wrote: "Twelve years ago, I lost someone I was not ready to lose... that the world was not ready to lose. You were there... not with words, but with purpose.

"When mortality had its grip on my life, you brought immortality. The Last Witch Hunter wasn't just a film. It was my resurrection.

"Your lovely wife Shakira embraced mine, your family became my family. This summer, three years after retiring, you came back. The words you spoke in character transcended film... like a gift of wisdom."

The Chronicles of Riddick star recalled how the fact that Caine only had images of his family at home - instead of movie stars he has worked with - struck a chord.

Diesel penned: "Whenever I'm at your house, I notice the walls. Only photographs of family. Not legends or movies, just family. That is not simplicity. That is a declaration.

"And once, in a room full of Nolan, Poitier, and Hollywood royalty, you stood and introduced me as your son. Powerful moment.

"We're just two kids from nothing, dreamers who became something. You said I speak to the world, but Michael... you speak to eternity. I love you. Forever."