People | July 11, 2015 05:20 PM EDT
50 Things To Know About Paul Walker – ‘Brian O’Connor’ From Fast And Furious
Paul Walker is an American actor, with international fame for his role of Brian O'Conner in the street racing action film series “The Fast and the Furious.” Here are 50 interesting facts to know about Walker -
- Paul William Walker IV was born in September 12, 1973 to Cheryl, a fashion model and Paul William Walker III, a sewer contractor and a former fighter.
- He has four younger siblings, Caleb Walker, Cody Walker and Ashlie Walker and Amie Walker.
- Walker spent his childhood in San Fernando Valley in Los Angles. He graduated from Village Christian School in 1991.
- He attended various community colleges in Southern California and completed his major in Marine Biology.
- As a toddler, he starred in a Television commercial for Pampers.
- In 1985 he starred in a number of television shows such as “Highway to Heaven” and “Who’s the boss?”
- In 1986 he began his acting career with the horror comedy film “Monster in the Closet.”
- He finished in second place along with his sister Ashlie Walker in 1988 game show “I’m Telling.”
- He starred as Brandon Collins in the soap opera “The Young and The Restless” in 1993. He along with co-star Heather Tom was nominated for “Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in Soap Opera” at the “Youth in Film Awards.”
- He got his first leading role in a feature film “Meet the Deedles”. It failed to garner any attention.
- He auditioned for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels but was too old for the role. It was the only role he ever wanted to act.
- He acted in leading roles in “Varsity Blues” and “She’s All That” in 1999 which became some of the memorable movies of the decade.
- His biggest breakthrough was in 2001 movie “The Fast and The Furious.” He established himself as a notable film star with the movies success.
- In the movie he along with his co star Matt Schulze had choreographed the fight scene outside the grocery shop, however during the shoot they didn’t feel right about it. They just improvised on it.
- He had stated that he liked the idea of undercover cop to be too cool just like in the Donnie Brasco movie. Keeping that in mind he signed for Fast and Furious.
- In the same year he was voted as one of the 50 Most Beautiful Persons in the World by People magazine.
- He backed out of a proposal to star in 2003 movie S.W.A.T as Jin Street. The role went to Colin Farrell.
- He reprised his role as Brian O’Connor in sequels to Fast and Furious.
- He was nominated in Razzie Award in 2004 for the Worst Actor category for his role in “2 Fast 2 Furious” and “Timeline.”
- The car Nissan Skyline R34 which he drives in 2 Fast 2 Furious is actually owned by him.
- He has a love for street racing and personally handpicked all the cars in the movie.
- The rear wing on his Nissan Skyline was entirely made of Carbon Fiber and cost $2000.
- He preformed all the stunts in the movie himself. In the opening race where the bridge jump occurs, his car sustains oil pan rupture and damage to all four rims.
- He was considered for the role of Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four in 2005.
- He had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s 2006 movie “Flags of Our Father.”
- He starred in 2006 Walt Disney Pictures “Eight Below” which garnered critical acclaim. It grossed $20million in the opening weekend.
- He started shooting for the Fast and Furious 7 in 2013, when he was killed tragically in a road accident in November 30.
- His friend Roger Rodas was driving his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT with Walker in the backseat.
- The spot where the accident occurred is a popular place for drift racing.
- Rogers was killed due to traumatic injuries and Walker due to severe burn injuries.
- Investigations in 2014 revealed that the car was traveling between 80 to 93 miles per hour with nine year old tires, which was the main reason for the crash.
- After his death the producers were thinking of scraping the movie altogether but later decide to give his character a proper send off.
- Body doubles and Stunt doubles were used to complete the movie. His brothers Cody Walker and Caleb Walker were used for his character.
- Some of the Walker’s dialogues and footages in the movie were taken from the deleted scenes of Fast Five.
- The Song “See You Again” at the end by Wiz Khalifa is dedicated to Paul Walker.
- He had signed to play the lead in Hitman: Agent 47, but died before the production began.
- He was part of the project called “Expedition Great White” for National Geographic.
- Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara were his residing place where he used to surf regularly.
- He wanted to enroll in US Army when the Gulf War broke out.
- He didn’t like to watch himself onscreen and would watch his movies only once.
- He has a daughter named Meadow Rain Walker with his former girl friend Rebecca Soteros. He had stated that Meadow Walker was not planned.
- Meadow Walker lived with her mother in Hawaii for 13 years before moving to California to live with her father in 2011.
- Walker before his death stated that he wanted to quit his acting career and dedicate all his time to his daughter.
- He held a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Miller.
- He along with his humanitarian aid team “Reach Out Worldwide” went to Chile in 2010 to help and support the people after the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake.
- His good friend Rogers Rodas was also his financial adviser who helped to establish Reach out Worldwide.
- Roger Rodas is the CEO of Always Evolving, a vehicle performance shop owned by Walker.
- In December 2014 Walker’s father filed a lawsuit on Roger Rodas’s estate for the return of share of revenue generated by “Always Evolving.”
- Vin Diesel considered him as his brother both on and off screen and affectionately called him “Pablo.” Vin Diesel even named his daughter as Pauline after Paul Walker.
- He was put to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial park, Hollywood Hills.
© 2024 BOOMS Beat, All rights reserved.
Do not reproduce without permission.
Do not reproduce without permission.