- Paul Walker
-
For other people named Paul Walker, see Paul Walker (disambiguation).
Paul Walker 
Born Paul William Walker IV
September 12, 1973
Glendale, CaliforniaOccupation Actor Years active 1985–present Website 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. He is also known for starring in the surprise summer hit The Fast and the Furious. His other films include Joy Ride, Running Scared, Into the Blue and Eight Below. The films he has starred in have grossed more than $1.7 billion. He also appears in the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White.
Contents
Early life
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 paternal grandfather was a professional boxer.[3] He is the oldest of five, having two brothers and two sisters.[4] Walker was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon, church.[1] He attended and graduated from Village Christian School.[5][6] After high, he attended several community colleges where he majored in marine biology.[5]
Career
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.
Walker's film career began in 1987, 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 has 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.[8] During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level"[9] 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."[9]
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.[10]
Walker 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.[11]
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.[12]
He reprised his role in the fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious series, Fast Five.
Personal life
Walker currently resides in Santa Barbara, California, with his dogs, one of which is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.[1][13] Paul and his then-girlfriend Rebecca have a daughter, Meadow[14] (born on November 4, 1998), who has moved from Hawaii to California to be closer to Walker.[15] He is an avid surfer and enjoys the beach. Walker holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu.[16]
Walker's first passion was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques Cousteau,[17] and he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006.[18] He recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White, which premiered in June 2010.[19][20] He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7 great white sharks off the coast of Mexico.[17] 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.[21]
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 REACH OUT team to Haiti to lend a helping hand to the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.[22] 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.[23]
Filmography
Film 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 The Skulls Caleb Mandrak 2001 The Fast and the Furious Brian O'Conner 2001 Joy Ride Lewis Thomas 2002 Life Makes Sense If You're Famous Mikey 2003 2 Fast 2 Furious Brian O'Conner 2003 Timeline Chris Johnston 2004 Noel Mike Riley 2005 Into the Blue Jared I- 2006
2006 Running Scared Joey Gazelle 2006 Eight Below Jerry Shepard 2006 Flags of Our Fathers Hank Hansen 2007 Stories USA Mikey 2007 The Death and Life of Bobby Z Tim Kearney 2008 The Lazarus Project Ben Garvey 2009 Fast & Furious Brian O'Conner 2010 Takers John Rahway 2011 Fast Five Brian O'Conner Television Year Title Role Notes 1985 Highway to Heaven Eric Travers 1 episode 1986 Highway to Heaven Todd Bryant 2 episodes 1986–
1987Throb 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–
1993The Young and the Restless Brandon Collins 1994 CBS Schoolbreak Special Dill 1 episode 1994 The Boys Are Back Jesse Hansen Pilot episode 1996 Touched by an Angel Jonathan 1 episode Awards
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 FestivalWon Young Hollywood Award New Stylemaker – Male Won 2002 MTV Movie Award Best On-Screen Team
Shared with Vin DieselThe Fast and the Furious Won Breakthrough Male Performance Nominated 2003 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Chemistry
For Paul Walker and his car2 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
- ^ a b c Keck, William (September 27, 2005). "Fame lets Paul Walker dive in". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-09-27-paul-walker_x.htm. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Atkin, Hillary (June 6, 2003). "Walker's in the 'Fast' lane to film stardom". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2003-06-05-paul-walker_x.htm.
- ^ http://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=ASknAAAAIBAJ&sjid=59AEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4376,3289087&dq=meet-paul-walker&hl=en
- ^ Aames, Ethan (November 12, 2004). "Paul Walker on Noel". Cinema Confidential. http://www.cinecon.com/news.php?id=0411121. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ a b "Paul William Walker I-IV bio: The Faster & Furiouser 5/4DEEMAS&JESUS ADAM Actor". Tribute.ca. http://www.tribute.ca/people/Paul+Walker/1379/17622. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Kim, Beatrice (November 21, 2003). "Pretty boy is pretty coy: Walker talks the talk". The Stanford Daily. http://www.stanforddaily.com/cgi-bin/?p=1013576. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ Chean, Steven (June 15, 2003). "Walker on the wild side". USA Weekend. http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/030615/030615paulwalker.html. Retrieved September 28, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Eight Below (2006)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=antarctica.htm. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ a b Murray, Rebecca. "Interview with "Running Scared" Writer/Director Wayne Kramer". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/runningscared/a/runningwk021406.htm. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ "Apple – Movie Trailers – Fast and Furious". Apple. http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/fastandfurious/. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (September 9, 2008). "Screen Gems digs up 'Bone' cast". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991957.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=bone+deep. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Coty Prestige Announces Agreement With Paul Walker
- ^ Koltnow, Barry (February 18, 2006). "Just chillin'". Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/homepage/article_1005204.php. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
- ^ "Paul Walker". Complex. http://www.complex.com/CELEBRITIES/Cover-Story/Paul_Walker. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ "Paul Walker Sad to Realize Meadow Has ‘Bloomed’". People. http://celebritybabies.people.com/2011/10/22/fast-five-paul-walker-daughter-meadow-has-bloomed/. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Duane, Daniel. "Paul Walker's Adventure Sports Workout Routine". Men's Health. http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=fitness&category=motivation&conitem=e718d0a0d1c26010VgnVCM200000cee793cd____&page=1. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ a b Itier, Emmanuel. "Paul Walker Interview". http://www.buzzine.com/2009/08/paul-walker-interview/. Retrieved 2009-11-15.[dead link]
- ^ "Paul Walker Joins The Billfish Foundation to Kick-Off 20th Anniversary Celebration". marlinmag.com. September 25, 2006. http://www.marlinmag.com/news/news/paul-walker-joins-the-billfish-foundation-to-kick-off-20th-anniversary-celebration-44209.html. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ "Paul Walker Leads Shark Expedition". Starpulse.com. November 12, 2009. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/11/12/paul_walker_leads_shark_expedition_. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ "Actor Paul Walker Joins National Geographic Shark Expedition". DiverWire. November 13, 2009. http://www.diverwire.com/scuba-environment-news/358-paul-walker-national-geographic-sharks.html. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ "Expedition Great White". National Geographic. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/expedition-week/4906/Overview?sicontent=0&sicreative=4194840652&siclientid=804&sitrackingid=107542971&source=banner_semygwngc_113. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ "REACH OUT Worldwide". REACH OUT Worldwide. http://www.roww.org/.
- ^ "AE Performance". Redline Time Attack. http://redlinetimeattack.com/ti/rl/content/7Ye8Ikji.html.
External links
- Official website
- Paul Walker at AllRovi
- Paul Walker at the Internet Movie Database
- Paul Walker at Yahoo! Movies
Categories:- 1973 births
- Actors from California
- American child actors
- American film actors
- American Latter Day Saints
- American male models
- American practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Living people
- People from the Greater Los Angeles Area
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
