Paul Walker

Actor

Car enthusiast

Paul William Walker IV[3] (September 12, 1973[4] – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the Fast & Furious franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recognition in the 1990s after appearing in the television soap opera The Young and the Restless; he received praise for his performances in the teen comedy She's All That and the comedy-drama Varsity Blues (both 1999), and saw international fame by starring in The Fast and the Furious (2001).

Walker also starred in the commercially successful road thriller Joy Ride (2001), becoming an action star. He followed this with the box-office disappointments Into the Blue (2005) and Running Scared (2006), although he earned praise for his performance in the survival drama Eight Below, and for his portrayal of Hank Hansen in Flags of Our Fathers (both 2006). Outside of these, Walker largely appeared in low budget action films, but starred in the commercially successful heist film Takers (2010). Walker died of injuries sustained from a single-vehicle collision on November 30, 2013, while speeding. His father and daughter filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against Porsche, which resulted in settlements. At the time of his death, Walker had not completed filming Furious 7 (2015); it was released after rewrites and stand-ins, including his brothers Cody and Caleb, filled in for Walker, while the song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth was commissioned as a tribute.

Walker was born on September 12, 1973 in Glendale, California. He had mostly English, as well as German, Swiss, and Irish ancestry.[6] His mother, Cheryl (née Crabtree), was a fashion model,[7] and his father, Paul William Walker III, was a sewer contractor and former amateur boxer, who was a two-time Golden Gloves champion.[8][9] Walker's paternal grandfather, William, had a short-lived boxing career as "Irish" Billy Walker, while another raced factory cars for Ford in the 1960s.[7] Raised a Mormon,[8] Walker had four younger siblings: Aimee, Ashlie, Caleb, and Cody. He spent the majority of his early life in the Sunland neighborhood of Los Angeles, and graduated from Village Christian School in 1991.[10][11] Walker subsequently attended several community colleges in Southern California, majoring in marine biology.

Walker was raised in a Mormon household, but later became a non-denominational Christian.[27] He lived in Santa Barbara with his dogs.[8][28] He and Rebecca Soteros, a one-time girlfriend, had a daughter named Meadow Rain Walker,[29] who lived with her mother in Hawaii for 13 years and then moved to California to live with Walker in 2011.[30] Her godfather is Vin Diesel, with whom Walker shared a close bond; Diesel gave him the nickname "Pablo",[31] while Walker's mother referred to her son as Diesel's "other half".[32] Walker was also close friends with fellow Fast & Furious co-star Tyrese Gibson.[33] At the time of his death, Walker was dating Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell. They began dating when she was just 16 while he was 33.[34][35][36] He held a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu[37][38] and was awarded his black belt by Miller posthumously.[39] Walker founded the humanitarian aid nonprofit charity Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) with financial adviser Roger Rodas in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[40][41] He traveled to a number of disaster-stricken areas to supply aid until his death. Walker drove a R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec in 2 Fast 2 Furious. He later owned the car. Walker had an interest in marine biology, and joined the board of directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.[42] He fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White (retroactively retitled Shark Men), which premiered in June 2010.[43][44] Walker spent 11 days catching and tagging seven great white sharks off the coast of Mexico. The expedition, led by Chris Fischer, founder and CEO of Fischer Productions, and Brett McBride and Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, took measurements, gathered DNA samples, and fastened real-time satellite tags to the great white sharks, in order to study migratory patterns, especially those associated with mating and birthing, over a five-year period.[45] A car enthusiast, Walker competed in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he raced on the AE Performance Team driving a BMW E92 M3. His car was sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Öhlins, Volk, OS Giken, Hankook, Gintani, and Reach Out Worldwide.[46] Walker had been preparing for an auto show prior to his death.[47] Walker owned Always Evolving, a Valencia high-end vehicle performance shop, where Rodas, a pro-am racer,[48][49] acted as CEO.

On November 30, 2013, at about 3:30 p.m. PST, Walker, 40, and Roger Rodas, 38, left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide for victims of Typhoon Haiyan,[57] with Rodas driving his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.[58] In a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed zone on Hercules Street in Valencia, a neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California, the car crashed into a concrete lamp post and two trees, catching fire.[57][59] Rodas died of multiple trauma while Walker died from the combined effects of trauma and burns. Both of their bodies were burned beyond recognition.[58] The curve where Walker and Rodas died is a popular spot for drifting cars.[60] No alcohol or other drugs were found in either man's system,[61] and neither mechanical failure nor road conditions appeared to play a role.[62] Police found no evidence of drag racing.[63] 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.[64] Grave of Paul Walker at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills 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 with his family before determining what to do with the film.[65] Numerous friends and movie stars posted tributes to Walker on social media.[66] His body was cremated and his ashes were buried in a non-denominational ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.[67] 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 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.[69] In September 2015, Walker's daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche, claiming that the Porsche Carrera GT had numerous design defects including a history of instability, and that its seat belt placement can cause harm upon impact.[70] However, Porsche denied any wrongdoing and blamed Walker, stating: "The perils, risk, and danger were open and obvious and known to him, and he chose to conduct himself in a manner so as to expose himself to such perils, dangers, and risks, thus assuming all the risks involved in using the vehicle."[71] In April 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled in favor of Porsche in a separate lawsuit filed by Rodas's widow Kristine.[72][73] The ruling had no bearing on two other cases against Porsche which have been filed by Walker's father, who is also the executor of the actor's estate, and his daughter.[73] Walker's father and daughter both reached separate out-of-court settlements with Porsche.

Best On-Screen Duo (1992–2000, 2013–2017) Dana Carvey & Mike Myers (1992) Mel Gibson & Danny Glover (1993) Harrison Ford & Tommy Lee Jones (1994) Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves (1995) Chris Farley & David Spade (1996) Nicolas Cage & Sean Connery (1997) John Travolta & Nicolas Cage (1998) Jackie Chan & Chris Tucker (1999) Mike Myers & Verne Troyer (2000) Mark Wahlberg & Seth MacFarlane (2013) Vin Diesel & Paul Walker (2014) Zac Efron & Dave Franco (2015) Hugh Jackman & Dafne Keen (2017) Best On-Screen Team (2001–2006, 2018) Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz & Lucy Liu (2001) Vin Diesel & Paul Walker (2002) Sean Astin, Andy Serkis & Elijah Wood (2003) Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore (2004) Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert & Amanda Seyfried (2005) Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson (2006) Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor & Chosen Jacobs (2018) Best Cast (2012) Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson & Tom Felton (2012)

Personel life Death of actor Lawsuits Awards