Paul Walker was born in California in 1973, making his big-screen debut in Your Closet in the 1986 horror parody Creature. After featuring in the 1990s in many TV shows, including Charles in Charge, Who’s the Boss? Walker gained popularity with a part in the 1999 film Varsity Blues, and the Young and the Restless, and his TV days were officially behind him. Walker got his breakthrough role in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, which would become his star vehicle and keep him occupied through four sequels and a brief prequel, after appearing in teen movies such as She’s All That and The Skulls.
Walker was established as an action-film mainstay by the Fast and the Furious franchise, and he continued to star in many films in the genre, including Takers, Hours, and Vehicle 19. At the age of 40, Walker died in a car crash on November 30, 2013.
At the age of 40, Walker died in a car crash on November 30, 2013. To help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Walker was in Santa Clarita, California, to attend a charity event for Reach Out Worldwide. He was allegedly in the Porsche passenger seat when his mate, who was driving, lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. The vehicle was engulfed in flames and both people at the scene of the crash were pronounced dead.
Walker had built Brick Mansions at the time of his death and was working on Fast & Furious 7. In 2014, Brick Mansions was released and on April 3, 2015, Fast & Furious 7 premiered to massive box office returns. Co-star Vin Diesel named his new baby girl, Pauline, after his friend in March 2015.
Walker has a daughter, Meadow Rain, with Rebecca McBrain, a former girlfriend. Walker left his $25 million estates in his will to Meadow and asked his mother to become her legal guardian.
With the assistance of Walker’s two brothers, Caleb and Cody, who had a similar physical resemblance to the actor, the 2015 release of Fast & Furious 7 was made possible. In scenes that needed to be reshot by the late star, the brothers collaborated with visual effects artists and brought Walker back to life with the introduction of CG.
The film will go on to gross $1.7 billion worldwide.
Born in Glendale, California, on September 12, 1973, Paul Walker appeared at a young age in front of the camera, modelling and appearing on television shows such as Charles in Charge, Highway to Heaven, and Who’s the Boss. In 1986, in the horror parody Monster in the Closet, he made his film debut while also landing a recurring role on TV’s Throb.
Walker attended numerous California community colleges after high school, but in 1993 he dove into full-time acting, playing a part in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. Walker appeared in the family sitcom Meet the Deedles, after a couple of TV guest roles and the lead in Tammy and the T-Rex and left his TV career behind for good.
The next role for Walker was a major one for his career: in the critically acclaimed, high-concept Pleasantville, he starred opposite Reese Witherspoon. From that point on, in such late-1990s movies, as She’s All That, Varsity Blues, and The Skulls, Walker found himself in leading roles, all pitched to a teen audience that helped turn Walker into a heartthrob.
Walker’s career entered overdrive in 2001 when he landed a leading role in The Fast and the Furious, alongside up-and-comer Vin Diesel. The Fast and the Furious, a film that paid tribute to 1970s road films, took Walker to new heights of fame on the way to more than $200 million in box-office receipts.
The franchise was back two years later with its first sequel, 2 Quick 2 Crazy, and Walker was up for the ride again. The gross of the film was even bigger than the first, and there was a bona fide hit series underway. Walker then appeared in a few more action-oriented films, including Timeline (2003), Into the Blue (2005), and Running Scared (2006), while also signing up for the ensemble drama Noel (2004) and the children’s adventure film Eight Below (2006).
In the 2006 war drama Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, Walker also demonstrated his range as an actor. In The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2007), Takers (2010), and Fast Five (2011)—the third instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, he continued to take on more action film roles. Walker signed on to film Fast & Furious 6 (2013) in 2012, holding the momentum of the series going.
Walker was involved in Reach Out Worldwide while not filming, a non-profit organization he founded in 2010 to bring assistance to regions affected by natural disasters.
Paramount Network is set to release I Am Paul Walker in August 2018, a feature-length documentary about the late Fast and Furious actor’s life and career. Interviews with co-stars such as Tyrese Gibson, directors Rob Cohen and Wayne Kramer, and family members of Walker will be included in the doc.
