Paul Walker

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For other people named Paul Walker, see Paul Walker (disambiguation).
Paul Walker
PaulWalkerEdit-1.jpg
Paul Walker at the Fast & Furious premiere at Leicester Square.
Born Paul William Walker IV
(1973-09-12) September 12, 1973 (age 39)
Glendale, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1985–present
Children 1
Website
www.paulwalker.com

Paul William Walker IV (born September 12, 1973) is 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 appears in the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Walker was born in Glendale, California and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, the son of Cheryl, a fashion model, and Paul Walker III, a sewer contractor.[1][2] His ancestry includes Irish, English, and German.[3] His paternal grandfather was a professional boxer, “Irish Billy Walker”.[4] He is the oldest of five, having two brothers and two sisters.[citation needed] Walker was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1] He graduated from Village Christian School.[5][6] After high school, he attended several community colleges, majoring in marine biology.[5]

Career[edit]

Walker's small-screen career began as a toddler, when he starred in a television commercial for Pampers. He began modeling at the age of 2[7] 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".[8]

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!, finishing 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, Varsity Blues, She's All That, and The Skulls.

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, Into the Blue, and Timeline, and 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.[9] During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level"[10] 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."[10]

Walker in 2006

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.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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[edit]

Walker currently resides in the Santa Barbara, California, with his dogs, one of which is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.[1][14] Paul and his then-girlfriend Rebecca have a daughter, Meadow[15] (born on November 4, 1998), who has moved from Hawaii to California to be closer to Walker.[16] He is an avid surfer and enjoys the beach. Walker holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu.[17]

Paul Walker drove Nissan Skyline in 2 Fast 2 Furious

Walker's first passion was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques Cousteau,[18] and he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.[19] He recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White, which premiered in June 2010.[20][21] He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7 great white sharks off the coast of Mexico.[18] 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 take measurements, gather DNA samples, and fasten real-time satellite tags to the great white sharks. This will allow Dr. Michael Domeier to study migratory patterns especially those associated with mating and birthing over a 5-year period of time.[22]

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 earthquake that 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.[23] He is also an avid car enthusiast who currently competes in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he races a M3 E92 and is on the AE Performance Team. His car is currently sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Ohlins, Volk, OS Giken, Hankook, Gintani, and Reach Out Worldwide.[24]

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.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

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 Skulls, TheThe Skulls Caleb Mandrake
2001 Fast and the Furious, TheThe 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 Running Scared Joey Gazelle
2006 Eight Below Jerry Shepard
2006 Flags of Our Fathers Hank Hansen
2007 Stories USA Mikey
2007 Death and Life of Bobby Z, TheThe Death and Life of Bobby Z Tim Kearney
2008 Lazarus Project, TheThe 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
2014 Brick Mansions Damien Filming

Television[edit]

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		 Young and the Restless, TheThe Young and the Restless Brandon Collins
1994 CBS Schoolbreak Special Dill 1 episode
1994 Boys Are Back, TheThe Boys Are Back Jesse Hansen Pilot episode
1996 Touched by an Angel Jonathan 1 episode

Music Videos[edit]

Year Artist Song
1997 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Wrong Thing Right Then
2003 Ludacris Act a Fool

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Film/TV Show Result
1988 Young Artist Award Best Young Actor – Guest Starring in a Television Drama
For episode "A Special Love"		 Highway to Heaven Nominated
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Male Newcomer Nominated
Young Artist Award Best Youth Actor in a Soap Opera Nominated
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

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Keck, William (September 27, 2005). "Fame lets Paul Walker dive in". USA Today. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  2. ^ Atkin, Hillary (June 6, 2003). "Walker's in the 'Fast' lane to film stardom". USA Today. 
  3. ^ "Betsey Alma OEFINGER b. 28 Oct 1922 Meriden New Haven County, Connecticut, U.S.A. d. 7 Mar 1991 Meriden New Haven County, Connecticut, U.S.A.: Our Family History". Germans2franklincountyma.info. Retrieved 2013-06-13. 
  4. ^ http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=ASknAAAAIBAJ&sjid=59AEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4376,3289087&dq=meet-paul-walker&hl=en
  5. ^ a b "Paul William Walker I-IV bio: The Faster & Furiouser 5/4DEEMAS&JESUS ADAM Actor". Tribute.ca. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  6. ^ Kim, Beatrice (November 21, 2003). "Pretty boy is pretty coy: Walker talks the talk". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 
  7. ^ Chean, Steven (June 15, 2003). "Walker on the wild side". USA Weekend. Retrieved September 28, 2008. [dead link]
  8. ^ Youtube. "Showbiz Pizza Commercial". Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  9. ^ "Eight Below (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  10. ^ a b Murray, Rebecca. "Intassiew with "Running Scared" Writer/Director Wayne Kramer". About.com. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  11. ^ "Apple – Movie Trailers – Fast and Furious". Apple. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  12. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 9, 2008). "Screen Gems digs up 'Bone' cast". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  13. ^ Coty Prestige Announces Agreement With Paul Walker
  14. ^ Koltnow, Barry (February 18, 2006). "Just chillin'". Orange County Register. Retrieved September 29, 2008. 
  15. ^ "Paul Walker". Complex. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  16. ^ "Paul Walker Sad to Realize Meadow Has ‘Bloomed’". People. Retrieved October 22, 2011. 
  17. ^ Duane, Daniel. "Paul Walker's Adventure Sports Workout Routine". Men's Health. Retrieved September 28, 2008. 
  18. ^ a b Itier, Emmanuel. "Paul Walker Interview". Retrieved 2009-11-15. [dead link]
  19. ^ "Paul Walker Joins The Billfish Foundation to Kick-Off 20th Anniversary Celebration". marlinmag.com. September 25, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 
  20. ^ "Paul Walker Leads Shark Expedition". Starpulse.com. November 12, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 
  21. ^ "Actor Paul Walker Joins National Geographic Shark Expedition". DiverWire. November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 
  22. ^ "Expedition Great White". National Geographic. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 
  23. ^ "REACH OUT Worldwide". REACH OUT Worldwide. 
  24. ^ "AE Performance". Redline Time Attack. 

External links[edit]

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