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Paul Walker Biography
Paul Walker (Paul William Walker IV) was an American actor best known for his role as Brian O’Conner in The Fast and the Furious franchise. Walker first became noticeable in 1999 with roles in the teen films She’s All That and Varsity Blues.
In 2001, Walker gained international fame for his role in the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), a role he reprised in five of the next six installments but died in 2013 in the middle of filming Furious 7 (2015).
Walker started his career guest-starring on TV shows such as The Young and the Restless and Touched by an Angel. He later starred in films such as Joy Ride (2001), Timeline (2003), Into the Blue (2005), Eight Below (2006), and Running Scared (2006). Walker also appeared in the National Geographic series Expedition Great White (2010) and in ads for Davidoff Cool Water cologne. He founded the disaster-relief charity Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Walker died on November 30, 2013, at the age of 40 as a passenger in a single-car crash along with friend and driver Roger Rodas. He was working on three films at the time of his death which were released posthumously: Hours (2013), Brick Mansions (2014), and Furious 7 (2015). The Wiz Khalifa song “See You Again”, featuring Charlie Puth, was commissioned for the Furious 7 soundtrack as a tribute to Walker. It was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song in 2015 and was the number-one song in the United States for 12 weeks.
Paul Walker Age
Walker was born on September 12, 1973, in Glendale, California, U.S. He died at age 40 on November 30, 2013, at Santa Clarita, California, U.S.
Paul Walker Family
Walker was born and raised by his parents Cheryl and Paul William Walker III in Glendale, California. His mother was a fashion model and his father was a sewer contractor and boxer who was a two-time Golden Gloves champion. He was the oldest of five siblings, Cody Walker (brother), Caleb Walker (brother), Amie Walker (sister), Ashlie Jay Walker (sister).
Paul Walker Education
Walker studied high school in the San Fernando Valley, graduating from Sun Valley’s Village Christian School in 1991. After high school, he attended several community colleges in Southern California, majoring in marine biology. He was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Paul Walker Career
Walker started his small screen career as a toddler when he starred in a television commercial for Pampers. He started modeling at the age of two 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. That same year, he starred in a commercial for Showbiz Pizza. His film career began in 1986, with roles in the horror/comedy film Monster in the Closet.
In 1987 he appeared in The Retaliator (aka Programmed to Kill), a low budget cyborg action film, with Robert Ginty. Walker and his sister Ashlie were contestants on a 1988 episode of the game show I’m Telling!, where they finished in second place. In 1993 he played the role of Brandon Collins on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He and his co-star Heather Tom, who played Victoria Newman, were nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a soap opera at the Youth in Film Awards. In 1998, 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 alongside actor Vin Diesel in the successful action film The Fast and the Furious, the first film in the franchise. The film established Walker as a notable film star and leading man and led to his reprise of the role in the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious. He continued his career with leading roles in films such as Joy Ride (2001), Timeline (2003), and Into the Blue (2005). He played a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Flags of Our Fathers (2006).
Later, he starred in the crime thriller Running Scared and Walt Disney Pictures’ Eight Below, both released in 2006. Eight Below received critical-acclaim and opened in first place at the box office, grossing over US$20 million during its first weekend. During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that “[Walker] is that guy on some level” when comparing Walker with his role 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.”
Walker starred in the independent film The Lazarus Project, which was released on October 21, 2008, on DVD. He subsequently returned to The Fast and the Furious franchise, reprising his role in Fast & Furious, which was released on April 3, 2009. Walker then appeared in the crime drama Takers, which started filming in September 2008 and was released in August 2010.
The Coty Prestige fragrance brand Davidoff Cool Water for Men announced in January 2011 that Walker would be the new face of the brand as of July 2011. He reprised his role in the fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious series, Fast Five (2011), and also in Fast & Furious 6 (2013). For this film, Walker won the 2014 MTV Movie Award as best on-screen duo, with Vin Diesel. He was part of an ensemble cast in Wayne Kramer’s Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013), which was Walker’s last film released before his death.
After Walker’s death, the Hurricane Katrina based film Hours, which he had completed earlier in 2013, was released on December 13, 2013. He had also completed the action film Brick Mansions, a remake of the French film District 13, which was released in April 2014. At the time of his death, Walker was filming Furious 7, which was slated for release in July 2014. The film was completed by using his brothers Caleb and Cody as his body doubles/stand-ins, and CGI, and was released in April 2015. Walker was also set to be cast in Agent 47 in the video game adaptation Hitman: Agent 47, but died before production started.
Paul Walker Death and legal repercussions
On November 30, 2013, at about 3:30 p.m. PST, Walker and his friend Roger Rodas, 38, left an event for Walker’s charity Reach Out Worldwide for victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), with Rodas driving his Porsche Carrera GT. In a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed zone on Hercules Street near Kelly Johnson Parkway in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, the car crashed into a concrete lamp post and two trees and burst into flames. Rodas died of multiple trauma while Walker died from the combined effects of trauma and burns. Both of their bodies were burned beyond recognition.
The curve where Walker and Rodas were killed is a popular spot for drifting cars. No alcohol or other drugs were found in either man’s system, and neither mechanical failure nor road conditions appeared to play a role. Police found no evidence of drag racing. The investigation concluded that the car’s speed – between 80 mph (130 km/h) and 93 mph (150 km/h) – and age of the tires were the primary reasons for the crash.
With Furious 7 in the middle of filming at the time of Walker’s death, Universal announced an indeterminate hiatus on the production, citing a desire to speak to his family before deciding on what to do with the film.
Numerous friends and movie stars posted tributes to Walker on social media. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried in a non-denominational ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. His life was later chronicled in the documentary I Am Paul Walker, which was released on August 11, 2018.
In December 2014, Walker’s father, Paul III, filed a wrongful death claim against Rodas’s estate seeking the return of, or “a proportionate share” of revenue generated by a group of automobiles that were jointly owned by both Walker and Rodas.
Paul Walker Movies
- Monster in the Closet 1986
- Programmed to Kill 1987
- Tammy and the T-Rex 1994
- Meet the Deedles 1998
- Pleasantville
- Varsity Blues 1999
- She’s All That
- Brokedown Palace
- The Skulls 2000
- The Fast and the Furious 2001
- Joy Ride
- Life Makes Sense If You’re Famous 2002
- The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious 2003
- 2 Fast 2 Furious
- Timeline
- Noel 2004
- Into the Blue 2005
- Eight Below 2006
- Running Scared
- Flags of Our Fathers
- The Death and Life of Bobby Z 2007
- Stories USA
- The Lazarus Project 2008
- Fast & Furious 2009
- Takers 2010
- Fast Five 2011
- Vehicle 19 2013
- Fast & Furious 6
- Pawn Shop Chronicles
- Hours
- Brick Mansions 2014
- Furious 7 2015
Paul Walker TV Shows
- CBS Schoolbreak Special 1984, 1994
- Highway to Heaven 1985, 1986
- Throb 1987
- Charles in Charge 1990
- Who’s the Boss? 1991
- What a Dummy 1991
- The Young and the Restless 1992
- Touched by an Angel 1996
- Shark Men 2010
- Shark Week 2013
Paul Walker Music videos
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones 1997
- Ludacris 2003
- 2 Chainz & Wiz Khalifa 2013
- Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth 2015
Paul Walker Awards
- MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (shared with Vin Diesel) 2002
- Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Action 2011
Choice Movie: Chemistry (shared with Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson) 2013 - MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Vin Diesel) 2014
- Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actor: Action 2015
Choice Movie: Chemistry (shared with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez,Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Ludacris).