Hannah Young

Stephen McElroy
Feature Profile Essay
March 1, 2016

Paul Walker

The clich saying, only the good die young couldnt be more applicable
when talking about the late Paul Walker. Walker abruptly left the earth almost
three years ago now at the age of 40, leaving behind an enormous positive
impression on the world. He was more than just an actor; Walker was a father,
husband, friend, devoted humanitarian and philanthropist. Whether on-screen or
in day-to-day life, he brought light and joy to the world in places where light and
joy were needed. Walkers career started young, at the age of two, when he
appeared in Pampers diapers and Shobiz Pizza commercials. A couple years
later, he had his first on-screen debut on the horror spoof Monster In Your Closet
at the age of 13, while having previous years of modeling already on his resume.
Later on, he had small roles in TV shows throughout the 90s, which inevitably
brought him to his rise of fame in the movie Varsity Blues in 1999 where he
played Lance Harbor, the heartthrob quarterback at West Canaan High. Varsity
Blues was nominated for two awards in 1999 and the movie grossed nearly $52
million in theaters. Girls of all ages got the hots for Walker, which helped
advance his career in acting. Two years later, Walker landed the biggest role in

his career, as Brian OConnor, in the Fast and Furious series that helped make
his name an overly known one. Walker was highly spoken about individual, not
only within his circle of friends, but also publicly in the media. He was extremely
active in community service events and charity organizations. Although his death
was tragic and unexpected, he left the world a better place everywhere he went,
even though he was only here for a short forty years.
Born to a model and two-time Golden Glove Boxing Champion, Walker
was destined to a brilliant future. He grew up a privileged child in a Mormon
household, attended private school his whole life in Glendale, California; but
never took the opportunities that he had for granted. He even stated that the way
he grew up had made him into the humble and honest man he was. Being the
eldest of five bothers, Paul was always an instant leader out of the bunch. Walker
had attended various California community colleges where he studied marine
biology, but knew that acting is where his heart belonged. He says in an interview
with E! that the two biggest influences from his childhood were Robin Williams
and Robert De Niro. He told the interviewer that he aspired to be more like these
big named actors and that motivation is what made him so serious about acting.
In 1993, he took a role in the notorious soap opera, The Young and the Restless.
From there he took on multiple large and small roles in television shows but left
his T.V. acting in the past when he took on one of the main roles in movies like
Varsity Blues and Shes All That in the late 1990s. Working alongside big named
actors and actresses like Reese Witherspoon, and Freddie Prinze Jr., Walker just
started his rise to fame here.

The film that is most accredited to Walkers fame and success are the Fast
and Furious franchise. This series initially premiered in 2001, which in total
grossed approximately $3,897,621,978 at the box offices worldwide. The first
Furious film profited about $168 million more than the budget spent filming the
movie which was 38 million, which is considered an immense success in
Hollywood, all according to [Link]. Walker starred in these films as an
undercover cop who fell into the world of street racing after being placed in an
undercover operation to stop semi-truck hijackings. Throughout the series his
character had the most evolvement, going from a strict police officer to a total
badass street racer. After this movie, both Vin Deisel and Paul Walker became an
international household name. This high-action crime film led onto a seven part
series, which in total won nine awards in different categories throughout the
years and was nominated for twelve other ones, according to [Link]. Walker
himself won five awards for his character in these films, one of them being
awarded after his death. During an interview with Walker while filming the first
movie, he was quoted saying this movies about cars, girls and guns, while this
might have been true at the time, throughout the duration of the other films the
series turned into so much more than that. From the first movie, that was based
off of Tokyo Drift, which centered on violence, sex and fast cars, the series turned
into an inspirational hit touching the hearts of people worldwide. In 2006, Vin
Desiel signed a contract that agreed to let him take over the series and put it in
motion the way he wanted to, a way that the viewers wanted; a bromance that
incorporated family ties, love, action and drama. The movies original director,

Rob Cohen, says he was inspired to write a film about street racing after reading
an article entitled Racer X in the May 1998 issue of Vibe Magazine about street
racing in New York City. When originally casting for this movie it was Vin Deisel
himself who said he wanted Walker to play the other leading role in the film, even
though other staff wanted Marshall (Eminem) Mathers to play the role instead.
Fast and Furious 7 was mid-production when Walkers Porsche exploded in a
single car collision with a light post where both passengers died immediately on
impact. In order to finish the film, the writers had to completely change the end of
the movie, having Walkers little brothers, Cody and Caleb, fill in as doubles
during some scenes. The final movie grossed approximately $1 billion worldwide
after twelve days, making it the highest grossed film in the series, and the sixth
highest grossed movie in history, which can be accredited to the sudden death of
the main star. The digital production team on set used CGI effects to take Walker
from previous movies to finish the seventh movie and also incorporated stunt
doubles (his brothers) to impersonate him. Viewers say that these scenes were
absolutely seamless and almost no one could notice the actual scenes compared
to the fictional ones. To a lot of peoples surprise, another Fast and Furious movie
has just been confirmed to release in 2017 and insiders say that the series arent
planning on ending just there.
When you put good will out there, its amazing what can be
accomplished, a notorious quote that Paul Walker said to press when asked
about his non-profit charity organization, Reach Out World Wide. Walker was
involved in a lot of community service organizations, but his most notable

contribution to service was the Reach Out Worldwide foundation. Walker cofounded this charity to help people around the world who have been involved in
and devastated from natural disasters. After the infamous earthquake that struck
Haiti in 2010 had death tolls close to 100,000 and effected nearly 3 million,
Walker got together with other trained professionals and started this organization
that has now helped with over eleven disasters globally, according to [Link].
From national disasters like the Arkansas and Illinois tornadoes, to international
ones like the Chile and Nepal earthquakes, ROWW were there to help. Instead of
just donating money, Walker would literally go out into areas that had been
devastated and would get his hands dirty to help others. Reporters had
documented Walker negotiating with locals for supplies like chainsaws and
masks, to help dig people out of broken homes and buildings. JD Dorfman, a
member of ROWW, had said that "Paul wasn't someone who would just write a
check and lend his name to an organization; he was the heart and soul of Reach
Out World Wide. Paul was the first one in and the last one out, he led by example
and his hard work and dedication inspired everyone who had the privilege of
working with him. He led one of the first teams into the hardest hit areas of Haiti
and traveled to Chile to bring water, medical aid and hope after the Earthquake
and Tsunami. He ran a chainsaw clearing debris and helping people get back into
their homes during the hottest days after the tornadoes in Alabama... Some
people play a hero, Paul was a hero. After his death, his family had asked his
mourning fans to send condolences in forms of donations to his organization in
lieu of flowers and cards. Walker was known for his charity work but because of

how humble the actor was he preferred that the public didnt know about when
and where he was helping others. Irene King, a local jeweler at Bailey Banks and
Biddle Jewelers in Santa Barbara, stated to local media press that she had first
hand witnessed one of Walkers generous acts. Over ten years ago now, Walker
was in Baileys scoping out jewelry when he overheard a young veteran tell his
fiance that [he] cant afford that ring. Walker had called the manager over and
asked him to anonymously put the $10,000 ring on his tab. When the couple was
overtaken by awe and shock the manager kept Walkers wish to remain
anonymous and said it was just a nice man that overheard their conversation and
wanted to give back to a solider.
On November 30th, 2013, the world lost yet another impeccable person
due to a car accident. The irony screams at the world that such an amazing
person, who spent years of their life working on films about fast cars, spent his
finals moments on the planet in a sports car, while driving to host a charity
auction. According to [Link], both reported to be sober at the time of the
collision. Roger Rodas was driving Walkers Porsche Carrera GT at 90 mph when
Rodas lost control of the car and crashed into a light pole and three trees which
killed him and Walker, who was riding in the passenger seat. Attorney Mark
Geragos alleges the cars suspension system forced it to careen out of control.
The lightweight construction in the 605-horsepower vehicle described by Porsche
as "close to a race car as we will ever get lacked a proper crash cage and safety
features in the gas tank that would have saved Rodas and Walker. The impact of
the collision caused the gas tank to literally explode, which more than likely

would not have happen if they had been in a different car with a differently
designed engine. The collision to the trees and light pole wasnt what killed the
two but the explosion from the gas leak in the engine is what did it. Multiple
lawsuits had been filed after the accident, from Roger Rodas wife, to Paul
Walkers daughter and father, all against Porsche for a faulty car design. Months
later, authorities decided that the fatal crash was due to reckless driving and
alterations that had been put onto the car after the initial purchase that Porsches
designers couldnt expect which released them from the blame of a faulty
suspension. Walkers death inspired many people, like rapper Wiz Khalifa and
singer Charlie Puth, who wrote a tribute song for him that became an instant hit
entitled See You Again to honor his life. See You Again was nominated for
best original song at the Golden Globes in 2014 and song of the year at the Teen
Choice Awards, and also peaked at number one on the Billboard Top 100 for
twelve consecutive weeks. This song was also played at the end of Fast and
Furious 7 with a visual tribute scene to the star that showed the star throughout
the series, which brought tears to almost every viewers eyes. Co-worker and
best friend, Vin Desiel, named his third child Pauline after Walker and said that
the decision to release another Fast and Furious film was because he knew that
that was what Walker would have wanted from him and the team. Today his
legend lives on through his fifteen year old daughter, Meadow, who has taken a
huge part of his charity, FOWW, into her own hands. Some of his most dedicated
fans went to the extreme and got tattoos that are correlated to Walker, whether
being motivational quotes he said or some even as far as getting a portrait of his

face on their body forever. Walker mentioned in one interview that the most
dedicated fan that he had ever met was his server in a small breakfast restaurant
that had 5 tattooed on her wrist. Curious to what it meant, he asked what the
significance of the tattoo was, he said she nervously responded My friend has
Fast on her wrist. Yet another kind gesture from Walker, he then came back the
next day and gave her tickets to the Furious 6 movie premier.
Walkers 17th movie, Into The Blue, was about a young couple who resided
in the Bahamas who tried to find a sunken treasure, while facing dangerous
criminals and temperamental weather. This movie was released in 2005
alongside co-star Jessica Alba, was considered a box office flop. The films
budget was $50 million and only made about $18 million in North Americas
theaters. The high action and fast paced theme of the movie correlated well with
previous movies Walker had worked on, but this movie didnt sit well with critics
like Rotten Tomatoes who only gave it a 21/100%. Metacritic gave it a 48/100
and said that even the endless shots of bronzed beach babes and buffed dudes
cant keep this soggy scuba flicks plot from drowning. After this failure Walker
swore that any movie he participated in again wouldnt have the same negative
reviews as this one. The next year, Walker released three more movies that all
had positive ratings with 7s and up. Eight Below is a movie that was out of the
normal theme of Walkers other movies. Eight Below is a childrens Disney movie
that was inspired by a true story, about two men who were forced to leave their
sled dogs alone in a cold winter storm in Antarctica while having to fend for their
own survival. Walker said that the main reason he wanted to film a movie that

was aimed towards children is because the majority of his work was R rated and
wanted to make something that his daughter could watch with her friends and
remember forever. This films budget was $40 million and made $120.4 million
with a 72% success rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Walker not only participated in
television series and big-screen movies, but he also partook in factual
documentaries. Having grown up in a seaside city in California, and after shortly
studying marine biology in college, he knew had always had a love for the ocean
and oceanic animals. After filming alongside wild sharks in Into the Blue, Walker
decided he wanted to get a first hand experience with great white sharks. In an
interview with CNN, Walker said that he had to temporarily give up acting to work
full time on National Geographics documentary, Expedition Great White and also
talks about how the crew were not initially excited to have an actor aboard
because of the diva reputation that they carry along with them. The crew,
obviously, came to learn that Walker was an intellectual and humble man who
just had a natural passion for the sea and sea creatures and was extremely
motivated to learn more about them. This hour long special follows trained
professionals and Paul Walker on a journey while they adventure off Baja,
California on a hunt to find, tag and take DNA samples from a great white shark.
Walkers time spent on the earth was time spent well and effectively.
When he reached the age he passed, forty, he was in the midst of considering
whether or not he should retire to try new things or to stick with acting. It was his
15-year-old daughter, Meadow that convinced him that the right thing to do was
to keep his acting career at large and make more movies, so she could travel the

world with him and experience his life on his side. Though he left the world too
soon, with no notice, Walker left the world a better place just by being alive. He
touched the hearts of millions of people worldwide, through his acting skills in
movies by bringing fictional characters alive, his charity involvement and his kind
gestures like buying a deserving couples wedding ring. He used his fortune he
made through his career to help everyone around him, and while reading tens of
articles on him there was not one negative word that could be found about him.
His 25 million dollar fortune was left behind to his daughter, who had moved in
full time with Walker two years prior to his sudden death so they could spend
more time together. However, there is an extreme amount of tension and drama
in their family over who exactly gets how much of Paul Walkers substantial
estate. While in his will it states that everything should be left to his daughter, his
ex-wife (Meadows mother) is filing a suit claiming that she deserves a portion
and Walkers parents want to be able to control the funds because,
understandably, Meadow is too young to control such a large amount of money.
The family deserves privacy while they are trying to figure out such a
controversial and personal debate. Walkers legacy will forever be remembered
in the world, through his multiple movies, charity organizations, family, friends
and those random strangers that had first hand experience with his giving
character. 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.

Citations

"Box Office History for Fast and the Furious Movies." Fast and the Furious
Franchise Box Office History. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

"Awards." IMDb. [Link], 12 July 2005. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

Simmons, John. "The Fast and the Furious (series)." The Fast and the Furious
Wiki. WIkia, 04 Jan. 2010. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
The Fast and the Furious: Who Almost Landed the Role of Brian O'Connor
Before Paul Walker Was Cast? | Wetpaint, Inc."Wetpaint, Inc. 2013. Web. 02
Mar. 2016.

"Entertainment." Meadow Walker, Paul's Daughter Inspired Him to Continue