An emotional Vin Diesel made it a point of paying special tribute to longtime pal and former cast mate Paul Walker during a recent early screening of "Furious 7" in Los Angeles.

According to ABCNews.com, as he choked on his words, 47-year-old Diesel told the crowd, "This was a very personal and important film to us. Every time I saw the movie at the premieres, Paul Walker and I would go off to the side. He would always tell me, 'Vin, the best one is still [to come].' I hope tonight, you let Pablo know this is the best one for you guys."

Diesel, who stars in the film alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Jordanna Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Lucas Black and Kurt Russell, later added, "This was a labor of love. It was in some ways the hardest movie I ever had to do. Because the relationships that you see on film are so real. When the tragedy happened, I lost my best friend. I lost my brother."

Walker, 40, was killed in a single car crash in Southern California in November 2013. Driver Roger Rodas, 38, was also killed in the fiery blaze that followed the crash. At the time of the accident, Walker was reportedly taking a few days off from filming the movie that is scheduled to open on April 3.

Several media outlets have reported Walker's scenes in the movie were finished using previously recorded footage and stand-ins, including Walker's two brothers. Producers have indicated they have no intention of killing off Walker's character in the new film.

As Diesel glowingly spoke of Walker during the L.A. special premiere, someone from the audience yelled, "You got family here Vin," to which the actor responded: "Aw, I love that!"

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