Synopsis
Born in California in 1973, Paul Walker made his big-screen debut in the 1986 horror spoof Monster in Your Closet. After appearing on several TV shows in the 1990s, such as Charles in Charge, Who's the Boss? and The Young and the Restless, Walker gained attention with a role in the 1999 film Varsity Blues, and his TV days were officially behind him. After working on teen movies such as She's All That and The Skulls,Walker got his breakthrough role in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, which would become his star vehicle and keep him busy through four sequels and a short prequel. The Fast and the Furious franchise has established Walker as an action-film mainstay, and he has appeared in several films in the genre, including Takers, Hours and Vehicle 19.
Early Years
Born on September 12, 1973, in Glendale, California, Paul Walker appeared in front of the camera at a young age, modeling and acting in TV shows such as Charles in Charge, Highway to Heaven and Who's the Boss. In 1986 he made his film debut in the horror spoof Monster in the Closet while also landing a recurring role on TV's Throb.
After high school, Walker embarked upon a start/stop series of enrollments at various California community colleges, but he dove into acting for good in 1993, taking a role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. After a handful of TV guest roles and the lead in Tammy and the T-Rex, Walker starred in the family comedy Meet the Deedles and left his TV career behind for good.
Walker's next role was a big one for his career: He played opposite Reese Witherspoon in the critically acclaimed, high-concept Pleasantville. From that point on, the roles poured in, and Walker found himself front and center in such late-1990s films as She's All That, Varsity Blues and The Skulls, all pitched at a teen audience who transformed Walker into a heartthrob.
The Role of a Lifetime
In 2001, Walker's career hit overdrive when he landed a leading role alongside up-and-comer Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious. A film that paid homage to exploitation and road films of the 1970s, The Fast and the Furious brought Walker to new heights of fame on the way to box-office receipts of over $200 million.
Two years later, the franchise was back with its first sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Walker was again along for the ride. The film's gross was even larger than the first, and a bona fide hit series was under way. Walker then appeared in a few more action-oriented movies, such as Timeline (2003), Into the Blue (2005) and Running Scared (2006), while also signing on to appear in the ensemble drama Noel (2004) and the children's adventure movie Eight Below (2006). Noel and Eight Below showed what Walker was capable of in less frenetic dramas, and he would appear in more of them down the road, such as Flags of Our Fathers (2006). But action is his wheelhouse, and The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2007), Takers (2010) and Fast Five (2011), the third installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, soon followed. With the Fast and the Furious franchise still clicking on all cylinders, Walker signed on to film The Fast and the Furious 6 in 2012, keeping the series' momentum going. While not filming, Walker is active in Reach Out Worldwide, a not-for-profit organization he formed in 2010 to bring aid to regions devastated by natural disasters.
