Paul William Walker IV[4] (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor and the founder of
Reach Out Worldwide. He became famous in 1999 after his role in the hit film
Varsity Blues, but later garnered fame as
Brian O'Conner in
The Fast and the Furious film series. His other well known works are
Eight Below,
Running Scared,
The Lazarus Project,
Into the Blue,
Joy Ride,
She's All That,
Takers, and
Hours.
Early life
Walker, the son of Cheryl (née Crabtree), a fashion model, and Paul
William Walker III, a sewer contractor and a fighter who was a two-time
Golden Gloves champion,
[5] was born in
Glendale, California.
[6][7] His ancestry is mostly
English, with smaller amounts of
German, and possible
Irish. His paternal grandfather was a professional boxer, born to English parents.
[8][9][10] One of his grandfathers raced factory cars for
Ford in the 1960s.
[5] The oldest of five siblings, Walker was raised primarily in the
Sunland community of
Los Angeles and attended high school in the
San Fernando Valley, graduating from
Sun Valley's
Village Christian School in 1991.
[11][12] He was raised as a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[6] After high school, Walker attended several community colleges in
Southern California, majoring in
marine biology.
[13]
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 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.
[14] 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. In 1993 he played 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).
Walker at a convention in February 2006
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 first film in the franchise. 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), and
Timeline (2003); he had a supporting role in
Clint Eastwood's adaptation of
Flags of Our Fathers (2006).
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.
[15] During the filming of
Running Scared, director
Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level"
[16] 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."
[16]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.
[17] Walker then appeared in the
crime drama Takers, which began filming in early September 2008 and was released in August 2010.
[18]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.
[19] 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). Upcoming films in which Walker starred or appeared in due for release are
Hours, set for release in December 2013, and
Brick Mansions, set for release in May 2014. At the time of his death, Walker had been filming
Fast & Furious 7, which was slated for release in July 2014.
[20] He was also set to play
Agent 47 in the
Hitman film adaptation.
[21]
Personal life
Walker lived in
Santa Barbara with his dogs.
[6][22] He and Rebecca McBrain,
[23] a one-time girlfriend,
[24] had a daughter
[25] who lived with her mother in Hawaii for 13 years and then moved to California to live with Walker in 2011.
[26] In 2007, Walker began dating 16-year-old Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell. Prior to his death, the couple had planned to marry.
[27][28] He held a brown belt in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu
[29] and was awarded with his black belt by Miller posthumously.
[30]Walker's first passion was
marine biology; he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.
[31] He fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a
National Geographic Channel series
Expedition Great White (later retitled
Shark Men), which premiered in June 2010.
[32][33] He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7
great white sharks off the coast of Mexico. 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. Domeier to study
migratory patterns especially those associated with mating and birthing
over a 5-year period of time.
[34]In March 2010, Walker went to
Constitución, Chile to offer his help and support to the people injured in the
8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 27. He flew with his
humanitarian aid team, Reach Out Worldwide, to Haiti to lend a helping hand to the
2010 Haiti earthquake victims.
[35]An avid car enthusiast, he competed in the
Redline Time Attack racing series in which he raced an
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.
[36] Walker had been preparing for an
auto show prior to his death.
[37]Roger Rodas became Walker's financial adviser in 2007 and helped to establish Reach Out Worldwide.
[38] Rodas was the CEO of Always Evolving, a Valencia high-end vehicle performance shop owned by Walker.
[39] He shared a close friendship with his
The Fast and the Furious co-star
Tyrese Gibson.
[40]
Death
On November 30, 2013, at approximately 3:30 p.m.
PST, Walker and friend Roger Rodas, age 38, a former professional racer and who worked as Walker's financial adviser
[41] left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide for victims of
Typhoon Haiyan[42][43] in Rodas' red 2005
Porsche Carrera GT. The car crashed into a light pole and tree on Hercules Street, a 45 mph speed zone near Kelly Johnson Parkway in
Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, after which the vehicle burst into flames.
[42][44][45][46][47] Authorities determined that Rodas was driving the car, while Walker was the passenger.
[48] The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department declared both victims dead at the scene.
[45][49] Rodas died of multiple traumatic injuries, while Walker died from the
combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries, according to the
Los Angeles county coroner's office.
[48]The curve where Walker and Rodas were killed is a popular spot for
drifting cars.
[50] Investigators believe the car reached at least 90 mph before the crash.
[51] Police investigated as to whether
drag racing played a role, but were unable to find evidence of a second car's involvement.
[52] Walker's family claims that reflectors on the road may have contributed
to the crash, claiming this particular kind of Porsche loses control if
it comes into contact with even the tiniest bumps in the road at high
speeds.
[53] Pieces of the car were stolen off the tow truck as the wreckage was
towed away on a flatbed. Two men were arrested for grand theft.
[54]With
Fast & 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 with his family before determining what to do with the film.
[55] His brother, Cody Walker, was asked to be the stand-in to complete this film.
[56] Numerous friends and movie stars have posted tributes to Walker on social media.
[57] Two weeks after his death, Walker's ashes were buried in a non-denominational ceremony at the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
[58]
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
|
1997 |
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones |
"Wrong Thing Right Then" |
2003 |
Ludacris |
"Act a Fool" |
Awards and nominations
|
1993 |
The Youth in Film Awards |
Outstanding Lead Actor |
|
Nominated |
2000 |
Young Hollywood Award |
Exciting New Face – Male |
|
Nominated |
2001 |
Hollywood Breakthrough Award |
Breakthrough Male Performance |
|
Won |
2001 |
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 |
2002 |
MTV Movie Award |
Breakthrough Male Performance |
The Fast and the Furious |
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 |