Paul William Walker IV[1] (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He became well known in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues. However, he is perhaps best known for starring as Brian O'Conner in The Fast and the Furious film series. His other films include Eight Below, Into the Blue, She's All That, and Takers. He also appeared on the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White.
Early life
Walker, the son of Cheryl (née Crabtree), a fashion model, and Paul Walker III, a sewer contractor, was born in Glendale, California and raised in theSan Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County.[2][3][4] His ancestry included Irish, English, and German.[5] His paternal grandfather was professional boxer "Irish Billy Walker".[6] Walker was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2] He graduated fromVillage Christian School.[7][8] After high school, he attended several community colleges, majoring in marine biology.[7]
Career
Walker began his small screen career as a toddler, when he starred in a television commercial for Pampers. He began modeling at the age of 2[9]and began working on television shows in 1985, with roles in shows such as Highway to Heaven, Who's the Boss?, The Young and the Restless, and Touched by an Angel. Also in 1985, he starred in a commercial for Showbiz Pizza.[10]
Walker's film career began in 1986, with the horror/comedy film Monster in the Closet. He and his sister Ashlie were contestants on a 1988 episode of the game show I'm Telling!; they finished in second place. He continued with roles in several other movies without much success; it was not until 1998 that Walker made his feature film debut in the comedy Meet the Deedles, which finally gained him fame. This subsequently led to supporting roles in the movies Pleasantville (1998), Varsity Blues (1999), She's All That (1999), and The Skulls (2000).
In 2001, Walker's breakthrough role arrived when he starred opposite actor Vin Diesel in the successful action film The Fast and the Furious. The film established Walker as a notable film star and leading man and led to his reprisal of the role in the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. He continued his career with leading roles in films such as Joy Ride (2001), Into the Blue (2005), andTimeline (2003); he also had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's 2006 adaptation of Flags of Our Fathers.
Walker then starred in the crime thriller Running Scared and Walt Disney Pictures' Eight Below, both released in 2006. Eight Below garnered critical-acclaim and opened in first place at the box office, grossing over US$20 million during its first weekend.[11] During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level"[12] when comparing Walker with his character in the movie, Joey Gazelle. Kramer continued on to say that he "loved working with [Walker] because as a director he's completely supportive of my vision of what the film is. And even better, he's completely game for it."[12]
Walker starred in the independent film The Lazarus Project, which was released on DVD on October 21, 2008. He subsequently returned to The Fast and the Furious franchise, reprising his role in Fast & Furious, which was released on April 3, 2009.[13] Walker then appeared with T.I., Idris Elba,Chris Brown, Matt Dillon, and Hayden Christensen in the crime drama Takers, which began filming in early September 2008 and was released in August 2010.[14]
The Coty Prestige fragrance brand Davidoff Cool Water for Men announced in January 2011 that Walker was going to be the new face of the brand as of July 2011.[16] He reprised his role in the fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious series, Fast Five (2011), and again in Fast & Furious 6 (2013).
Personal life
Walker lived in Santa Barbara, California, with his dogs, one of which is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.[2][17] Paul and his then-girlfriend Rebecca [18]have a daughter, Meadow[19] (born on November 4, 1998), who moved from Hawaii to California to be closer to Walker.[20] He was an avid surfer and enjoyed the beach. Walker held a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu.[21]
Walker's first passion was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques Cousteau,[22] and he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.[23] He fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White, which premiered in June 2010.[24][25] He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7 great white sharks off the coast of Mexico.[22] The expedition, led by Chris Fischer, founder and CEO of Fischer Productions, along with Captain Brett McBride and Dr. Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute took measurements, gathered DNA samples, and fastened real-time satellite tags to the great white sharks. This allowed Dr. Michael Domeier to study migratory patterns especially those associated with mating and birthing over a 5-year period of time.[26]
In March 2010, Walker went to Chile, specifically to Constitución, to offer his help and support to the people injured in the 8.8 magnitude earthquakethat struck on February 27. He also flew with his humanitarian aid team, REACH OUT Worldwide, to Haiti to lend a helping hand to the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.[27]
He was also an avid car enthusiast who competed in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he raced a M3 E92 and was on the AE Performance Team. His car was sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Ohlins, Volk, OS Giken, Hankook, Gintani, and Reach Out Worldwide.[28]Walker had been preparing for an auto show prior to his death.[29]
Walker has also owned a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V-Spec II, that was featured in 2 Fast 2 Furious, driven by his character Brian O'Conner. He had customized the car himself for the movie, and also did many stunts in the movie himself.
Death
On November 30, 2013, at approximately 3:30 PM (PST), Walker and a friend, identified as Roger Rodas by organizers for Walker's charity, Reach Out Worldwide (for victims of Typhoon Haiyan), left one of its events.[30][31] Shortly after leaving in Rodas' red Porsche Carrera GT, the driver lost control and crashed into a light pole and tree in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California and the vehicle burst into flames.[32][30][33][34] The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declared the two deceased at the scene.[32][35] Coverage was first reported after Walker's publicist, Ame van Iden, confirmed early reports of his death.[30] Rodas became friends with Walker after meeting at a race track. He became his financial adviser in 2007 and helped to establish Reach Out Worldwide.[36] Rodas was the CEO of Always Evolving, a performance shop for high end vehicles owned by Walker, located in Valencia.[37]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Monster in the Closet | 'Professor' Bennett | |
| 1987 | Programmed to Kill | Jason | |
| 1994 | Tammy and the T-Rex | Michael | |
| 1998 | Meet the Deedles | Phil Deedle | |
| 1998 | Pleasantville | Skip Martin | |
| 1999 | Varsity Blues | Lance Harbor | |
| 1999 | She's All That | Dean Sampson | |
| 1999 | Brokedown Palace | Jason | Uncredited |
| 2000 | The Skulls | Caleb Mandrake | |
| 2001 | The Fast and the Furious | Brian O'Conner | |
| 2001 | Joy Ride | Lewis Thomas | |
| 2002 | Life Makes Sense If You're Famous | Mikey | |
| 2003 | Turbo-Charged Prelude | Brian O'Conner | 6 minute short film introductory film for 2 Fast 2 Furious |
| 2003 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | Brian O'Conner | |
| 2003 | Timeline | Chris Johnston | |
| 2004 | Noel | Mike Riley | |
| 2005 | Into the Blue | Jared Cole | |
| 2006 | Eight Below | Jerry Shepard | |
| 2006 | Running Scared | Joey Gazelle | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Hank Hansen | |
| 2007 | Stories USA | Mikey | |
| 2007 | The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Tim Kearney | |
| 2008 | The Lazarus Project | Ben Garvey | |
| 2009 | Fast & Furious | Brian O'Conner | |
| 2010 | Takers | John Rahway | |
| 2011 | Fast Five | Brian O'Conner | |
| 2013 | Vehicle 19 | Michael Woods | |
| 2013 | Fast & Furious 6 | Brian O'Conner | |
| 2013 | Hours | Nolan | |
| 2013 | Pawn Shop Chronicles | Raw Dog | |
| 2014 | Brick Mansions | Damien | Post-production |
| 2014 | Fast & Furious 7 | Brian O'Conner | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Highway to Heaven | Eric Travers | 1 episode |
| 1986 | Highway to Heaven | Todd Bryant | 2 episodes |
| 1986– 1987 | Throb | Jeremy Beatty | 23 episodes |
| 1988 | I'm Telling! | Contestant | 1 episode. |
| 1990 | Charles in Charge | Russell Davis | 1 episode |
| 1991 | Who's the Boss? | Michael Haynes | 1 episode |
| 1992– 1993 | The Young and the Restless | Brandon Collins | |
| 1994 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Dill | 1 episode |
| 1994 | The Boys Are Back | Jesse Hansen | Pilot episode |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Jonathan | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Shark Week | Himself | 1 episode |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | "Wrong Thing Right Then" |
| 2003 | Ludacris | "Act a Fool" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Film/TV Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Young Hollywood Award | Exciting New Face – Male | Won | |
| 2001 | Hollywood Breakthrough Award | Breakthrough Male Performance Received at the Hollywood Film Festival | Won | |
| Young Hollywood Award | New Stylemaker – Male | Won | ||
| 2002 | MTV Movie Award | Best On-Screen Team Shared with Vin Diesel | The Fast and the Furious | Won |
| Breakthrough Male Performance | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie Chemistry For Paul Walker and his car | 2 Fast 2 Furious | Won |
| 2009 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure | Fast & Furious | Nominated |
| 2011 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure | Fast Five | Nominated |
