Paul Walker: Live Fast, Love Life

“You know, all that really matters is that the people you love are happy and healthy. Everything else is just sprinkles on the sundae” - Paul Walker.

These are some wise words from the late great, Paul Walker. If someone were to ask me who was the true definition of a star in the world of entertainment, without hesitation I would say Paul Walker. He was a true star, not because of fame and fortune, but because he was a humanitarian with a heart of gold. He was introduced to the world through his art, but connected with the world due to his loving and authentic spirit.

Paul William Walker IV was born September 12th, 1973 in Glendale, California to Paul William Walker III and Cheryl Walker (neé Crabtree). Paul was the oldest of five children, including two sisters, Aimee and Ashlie and two brothers, Caleb and Cody. Paul came from a family with a unique history with the spotlight. His father was a former boxer and his mother was a fashion model.

Paul got his start in Hollywood when he was just a toddler. At the age of just two years old he was starring in pamper commercials and by the 80’s he was starring in commercials for Showbiz Pizza and appeared in the television anthology series CBS Schoolbreak Special. By the early 90’s Paul made some very noteworthy appearances on the hit family sitcom Who’s The Boss opposite Alyssa Milano and Tony Danza and the hit soap opera The Young and the Restless, but the late 90’s was when he really grew into the Paul Walker we all came to know and love most.

I remember the first time I ever saw Paul Walker on screen. It was in the 1999 teen love-comedy film She’s All That starring alongside Freddy Prinze Jr., and Rachel Leigh Cook. The next movie where he caught my attention was the 2000 thriller The Skulls alongside Joshua Jackson.

What I first noticed about him in these films was he had a good knack for playing the bad guy, but I didn’t realize how truly good his acting range was until the next film I saw him in which also came from the director and producer of The Skulls, 2001’s high octane landmark action film The Fast and The Furious. It was here that he caught my attention for playing the good guy.

Without a doubt Paul Walker’s role as Brian O’Conner in The Fast and the Furious franchise became the signature role of his career, but he still prospered just as much outside of the series thanks to films like Joyride (2001), Eight Below (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Running Scared (2006) and Takers (2010). Paul Walker the actor took the world by storm thanks to the success of his film career, but it was Paul Walker the man, who would eventually leave a footprint in the heart of the world.

It comes natural for entertainment fans to want to get to know who is the artist behind the screens we watch and Paul Walker was no exception. As fans watched Paul Walker through the years we learned that a lot of who he was in his real life is who he poured into his films. The Fast and the Furious cast of characters is a big God fearing family of car lovers. Paul Walker really was Christian and was very open about his faith and it has always been well known that he was a big car head as well, he actually owned a couple of the cars that were used in the Fast series.

Paul Walker also lived by the family principles which are so heavily recited in the Fast series. He had a daughter named Meadow who he loved more than anything and he was known for his very real life brotherly relationships with co-stars Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris.

If there was a moment of Paul Walker’s life that could bring you to tears it would be the images of his charity work. Who could forget the Haiti earthquake of 2010? I know I couldn’t and the main image that will forever be burned in my memory is the images of Paul Walker and his charity Reach Out World Wide (ROWW) lending hands on aid to the land of Haiti.

Images like the one above of Paul were really heartwarming and inspiring. In this moment Paul wasn’t some rich celebrity who was just throwing his money around to a cause to make himself look good. He was a human being who was helping his fellow man with his bare hands, doing everything he could to mend the broken-hearted. As a big fan of Paul I had always respected the good natured man he was, but after watching his charity work in Haiti I had a whole new level of respect for him.

Above this paragraph I posted a still picture of the date scene from the first Fast film. I added this picture because it’s exactly what I was looking at when I heard the news that Paul Walker had died. During the final weekend of November in 2013 the TV channel Bravo was showing a marathon of the first two Fast films all weekend long. It was at the date scene between the characters Brian and Mia that I momentarily flip the channel to E! News and saw a breaking news report that Paul Walker was dead.

Around 3pm PST Paul Walker and his close friend and fellow humanitarian Roger Rodas got into a fiery car crash in Los Angeles, California after leaving a charity event. The crash claimed both of their lives. Less than an hour after the crash the news quickly spreaded across the world of entertainment. Within days there was mourning and within weeks there was recollection.

Fans and the world of Hollywood mourned Paul Walker fervently. One of the most heart wrenching images was of Tyrese Gibson visiting Paul’s crash site in tears. These images haunted us with the reality of the great man that the world had now lost. Fans turned the crash site into a memorial ground for Paul Walker in the weeks that followed.

For me personally, it was hearing all of the stars of entertainment pay respect to him that really tugged at the heartstrings for me. From his cast mates from the Fast series to his cast mates of some of his earliest hits like She’s All That, The Skulls and Into The Blue, everyone had a fond memory of Paul. Countless other stars who had not shared the screen with Paul also had kind words of tribute for him. When Paul Walker died all of us who loved him reflected on the good he brought to the world with his kindness and selfless love that he graced so many lives with and never ever bragged about his deeds.

In the years following Paul Walker’s death the legacy of his life lives on through the art that was carried in his name by the people who love him. Thanks to the Fast family and Paul’s younger brothers, Caleb and Cody, his final film, Furious 7 from the Fast series was completed and released in 2015. The film’s conclusion had one of the most emotionally gripping tribute scenes in the history of cinema and everyone who witnessed it was brought to tears and applause at its site, myself included.

The movie was also crowned by one of the greatest tribute songs ever: “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. This song was the ultimate love letter to Paul Walker’s legacy and an amazing send off that had everyone across the planet singing in unison all year long.

It has now been one decade since Paul Walker left us and his memory and legacy are larger than ever. The Fast series is still running strong in his memory and I’m glad to say that Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow Walker recently joined the cast of the Fast family in the tenth and latest installment of the series Fast X making her acting debut.

When Meadow Walker was married in 2021 her godfather Vin Diesel walked her down the aisle at her wedding. Paul Walker’s brother Cody and Caleb are also very close with Paul’s Fast brothers, keeping the bonds of his life’s legacy alive and ever flowing.

Paul William Walker was and always will be an amazing soul. He wasn’t just a talented actor, but a loving man who really cared for the world and all of it’s inhabitants. Paul is a prime example of how in a cutthroat world like Hollywood you can be an honest to goodness person who never allows themselves to get swept up in the world of the fake. He taught us that you can be the most down to earth person ever, even when you’re on top of the world. It makes perfect sense that his charity organization was called Reach Out World Wide, because that’s exactly what Paul Walker did. He reached everyone world wide and we will always remember him.

“If one day the speed kills me do not cry, because I was smiling” - Paul Walker.

~~Dedicated to the memory of Paul Walker. Thank you for sharing your spirit with the world. Until we see you again, brother.