Paul Walker
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| Paul Walker | |
 Walker (R) with Alex Neuberger in Running Scared |
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| Birth name | Paul William Walker IV |
| Born | September 12, 1973 (age 33) Glendale, California, USA  |
| Spouse(s) | rhiannon |
| Notable roles | Brian O'Conner in The Fast and the Furious & 2 Fast 2 Furious, Lewis Thomas in Joy Ride, Joey Gazelle in Running Scared |
Paul William Walker IV (born September 12, 1973) is an American actor and former fashion model.
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[edit] Early life
Paul Walker was born in Glendale, California to Paul William Walker III (a retired sewer contractor) and Cheryl Crabtree (a former fashion model); his paternal grandfather, William Walker (aka. "Irish" Billy Walker), was a Pearl Harbor survivor and a Navy middleweight boxing champion, while his maternal grandfather commanded a tank Battalion that invaded Italy under General Patton during World War II [1]. He has two younger brothers, Caleb and Cody, and a younger sister, Ashlie.
Walker was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as "Mormons," in a conservative household, although he is quoted he no longer practices. He grew up in Glendale, California, and neary Sunland, California. He attended The Carden Lee School, Alfred Nobel School and later Village Christian High School, graduating in 1991.
[edit] Career
Walker's small-screen career began with commercials as a child, and he was later cast for the first season of the sitcom Throb. He began modeling in the late 1980s. His big-screen career began with appearances in several low-budget B movies, including Monster in the Closet (1987) and Tammy and the T-Rex (1994). He also had a brief stint on the soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1993. In 1998, he starred in his first widely released film, the critically-derided Meet the Deedles as well as the well-received Pleasantville, playing a high school basketball player along with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon. Between 1999 and 2001, Walker appeared in a few notable films aimed at a teenage audience, including She's All That and Varsity Blues.
His breakthrough came in 2001, when he starred opposite Vin Diesel in the highly successful action film The Fast and the Furious, which established Walker as a notable film star and leading man. Consequently, Walker played the lead role in a number of action-adventure films, the most financially successful of which was 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). His other 2001 film, Joy Ride, received very positive reviews by critics. Walker was also originally set to star in the film S.W.A.T. (2003), but left the project and was replaced by Colin Farrell.
In 2002, he was chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 most beautiful people in the world". He protested that he was not so beautiful, and shouldn't have received the award.
In February 2006, Walker starred in two films; Running Scared, an action thriller, and Eight Below, an adventure set in Antarctica. Eight Below, a family-friendly Disney film, opened in first place at the box office, grossing over $24 million during its first four days.[2] The film received positive reviews and was considered a success for Walker, whose most recent films, including Timeline and Into the Blue, were financial and critical failures. Walker filmed Running Scared in 2004, wanting to participate in a darker-edged film; the film's director, Wayne Kramer, has commented that the film's character is closer to Walker's own personality than any of his previous roles [3]. In fall 2006, Walker appeared in Flags of Our Fathers, a war movie directed by Clint Eastwood.
[edit] Personal life
Walker resides in Santa Barbara and Huntington Beach, California. He has a daughter, Meadow Rain (born January 28th 1999) from a former girlfriend (Rebecca); she lives with her mother in Hawaii. One of his close friends is actor Scott Caan, who appeared alongside Walker in several films, including Varsity Blues and Into the Blue. He also formed a close friendship with Tyrese Gibson during the filming of 2 Fast 2 Furious. He is said to be very down to earth and shy in real life.
[edit] Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Tammy and the T-Rex | Michael aka Teenage T-Rex | |
| 1998 | Pleasantville | Skip Martin | |
| Meet the Deedles | Phil Deedle | ||
| 1999 | She's All That | Dean Sampson | |
| Varsity Blues | Lance Harbor | ||
| 2000 | The Skulls | Caleb Mandrake | |
| 2001 | Joy Ride | Lewis Thomas | |
| The Fast and the Furious | Brian O'Conner | ||
| 2003 | Timeline | Chris Johnston | |
| 2 Fast 2 Furious | Brian O'Conner | ||
| 2005 | Into the Blue | Jared | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Hank Hansen | |
| The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Tim Kearney | ||
| Running Scared | Joey Gazelle | ||
| Eight Below | Jerry Shepard | ||
| 2008 | The Heaven Project | NA |
[edit] Interviews
- About.com interview (February 20, 2006)
- Movies, Monsters & Critics interview (February 16, 2006)
- Calendar Live interview (February 15, 2006)
- About.com interview (September, 2005)
- USA Today interview (September 27, 2005)
- About.com interview (November, 2003)
- UGO interview (November 26, 2003)
- Toronto Sun interview (November 23, 2003)
- the Early Show interview (June 9, 2003)
- USA Today interview (June 6, 2003)
- MovieHole interview (May 15, 2003)
- the Harvard Crimson interview (April 14, 2000)
