Paul Walker (born September 12, 1973; died November 30, 2013) was an American actor famous for his role in the 'Fast and Furious' car film franchise.
Childhood: Paul Walker was born in Glendale, California. His parents were fashion model Cheryl and former fighter Paul William Walker III. He attended high school in the San Fernando Valley and later Sun Valley's Village Christian School. He studied marine biology in a handful of community colleges in Southern California.
Acting career: Paul Walker began his acting career in a Pampers diapers commercial. Among his early TV roles were 'Highway to Heaven', 'Who's the Boss?', 'The Young and the Restless' and 'Touched by an Angel'. His first film role was as Professor Bennett in 1986's 'Monster in the Closet'. In 1998, he appeared in his first feature film, 'Meet the Deedles', in which he starred alongside Steve Van Wormer.
After this main role, he landed supporting parts in 'Pleasantville' with Tobey Maguire, 'Varsity Blues' alongside James Van Der Beek, 'She's All That' opposite Freddie Prinze, Jr. and 'The Skulls' also starring Joshua Jackson over the following few years. 2001 saw him reach worldwide attention with appearance in 'The Fast and the Furious' with Vin Diesel. He subsequently appeared in the following sequels '2 Fast 2 Furious', 'Fast & Furious', 'Fast Five' and 'Fast & Furious 6'. Also in 2001, he appeared in 'Joy Ride' with Steve Zahn which was soon followed by 2003 sci-fi film, 2005's 'Into the Blue' and Clint Eastwood's 'Flags of Our Fathers' adaptation in 2006. In 2006, he starred in 'Eight Below' which became a tremendous box office success.
The last film Paul saw the release of before his death was Wayne Kramer's 'Hustlers'. Later, 'Hours' - a film based on Hurricane Katrina - was released in 2013, and 'District 13' remake 'Brick Mansions' came out in 2014. As Paul died during the filming of 'Fast & Furious 7', his brothers were enlisted as body doubles for the rest of production which will also feature CGI.
Personal life: Paul Walker has a daughter named Meadow with his former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros. He had been in a relationship with Jasmine Gosnell at the time of his death. She was said to be 'broken up' about his passing. He had a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was awarded an honourary black belt by his trainer after his death.
Walker had a passion for marine biology and was on the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation. In 2010, he visited Constitución, Chile to aid those injured in the earthquake. He joined Reach Out Worldwide to attend to the Haiti earthquake victims. Another passion of Paul's was cars and he competed in the Redline Time Attack racing series.
In 2013, he died after a serious car accident involving his friend Roger Rodas's 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. The car collided into a pole and Walker, who was the passenger in the vehicle, died from traumatic and thermal injuries after the car burst into flames. Rodas also died from his injuries.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
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