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 and has since gone on to star in its sequels, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast & Furious, and the recently released Fast Five. His other films include Joy Ride, Running Scared, Into the Blue and Eight Below. The films he has starred in have grossed more than $1.1 billion. He also appears in the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White.


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. His paternal grandfather was a professional boxer. He is the oldest of five, having two brothers and two sisters. Walker was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon, church. He attended and graduated from Village Christian School. After high school, he attended several community colleges where he majored in marine biology.


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 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. During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level" 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."

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.

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.

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.

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. Paul and his then-girlfriend Rebecca had a baby his daughter, Meadow (born in 1998), lives with her mother in Hawaii. He is an avid surfer and enjoys the beach. Walker is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Paragon Jiujitsu. He is currently engaged to Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell, who he began dating when she was sixteen and he was thirty-two.

Walker's first passion was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques Cousteau, and he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006. He recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White, which premiered in June 2010. He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7 great white sharks off the coast of Mexico. 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.

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. He is also an avid car enthusiast who currently competes in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he races a Mazda RX-8 and is on the AE Performance Team. His car is currently sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Ohlins, Volk, OS Giken,Hankook, and Reach Out Worldwide.


Filmography

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    
2000    Skulls, TheThe Skulls                                            Caleb Mandrake    
2001    Fast and the Furious, TheThe 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    
2006    Running Scared                                                    Joey Gazelle    
2006    Eight Below                                                    Jerry Shepard    
2006    Flags of Our Fathers                                            Hank Hansen    
2007    Stories USA                                                    Mikey    
2007    Death and Life of Bobby Z                                    Tim Kearney    
2008    Lazarus Project, TheThe Lazarus Project            Ben Garvey    
2009    Fast & Furious                                                    Brian O'Conner    
2010    Takers                                                            John Rahway    
2011    Fast Five                                                            Brian O'Conner

Television

1985    Highway to Heaven                                                            Eric Travers    
1986    Highway to Heaven                                                            Todd Bryant    
1986–
1987    Throb                                                                            Jeremy Beatty    
1988    I'm Telling!                                                                    Contestant    
1990    Charles in Charge                                                            Russell Davis    
1991    Who's the Boss?                                                                    Michael Haynes    
1992–
1993    Young and the Restless, TheThe Young and the Restless    Brandon Collins    
1994    CBS Schoolbreak Special                                                    Dill    
1994    Boys Are Back, TheThe Boys Are Back                                    Jesse Hansen    
1996    Touched by an Angel                                                            Jonathan    


Izvor: Wikipedia

Pol Voker: Holivud je smeće

Američki glumac Pol Voker ističe koliko ga zamara život filmske zvezde, otkriva šta mu donosi mir i kako se relaksira, ali i govori o tome koliko su mu očinstvo i briga o četrnaestogodišnjoj ćerki važni

Američki glumac Pol Voker rođen je u Kaliforniji nedaleko od Los Anđelesa 12. septembra 1973. godine kao najstarije od petoro dece u porodici koja je od davnina bila na meti javnosti. Njegov deda Vilijam, bio je učesnik bitke u Perl Harburu, a uspešno se dugi niz godina profesionalno bavio boksom. Majka Šeril u mladosti je bila poznata manekenka, dok mu je otac, koji se takođe zove Pol, ostvario zavidnu karijeru u privatnoj fimi čija je glavna delatnost bila usmerena na izgradnju kanalizacionih instalacija. Pol je odgajan u hrišćanskom duhu:završio je hrišćansku školu Village Christian School, a nakon okončanja srednje škole neočekivano je rešio da izučava prirodnu nauku i diplomirao je na odseku biologije. Karijeru je započeo kao dete u reklamnoj kampanji brenda Pampers, a nakon ovog projekta usledili su i drugi koji su bili vezani za modnu idustriju. Sa dvanaest godina počeo je da radi dečije televizijske emisije. Na filmu je debitovao 1987. u horor komediji Monster in the Closet, a nakon toga usledile su još neke, skoro beznačajne role sve do 1998. Tada je dobio ulogu koja mu je donela svetsku slavu u komediji Meet the Deedles, a nakon nje usledili su podjednako uspešni Pleasantville, Varsity Blues, She's All That, and The Skulls. U tom periodu njegova tadašnja devojka Rebeka rodila mu je ćerku kojoj su nadenuli ime Medou Rejn Voker. Par se nakon nekoliko godina razišao, a njihova ćerka živi na Havajima sa majkom, dok se sa ocem često viđa. Početkom novog milenijuma Pola je oduševio scenario za akcioni filma Paklene ulice u kome je zaigrao zajedno sa Vinom Dizelom. Inače, karijeru je nastavio u vodećim ulogama Joy Ride, Into the Blue, Timeline, a zaigrao je i u filmu Klinta Istvuda Flags of Our Fathers. Voker trenutno živi u Santa Barbari sa svojom dugogodišnjom devojkom Džesmin Pilhard Gosnel, strastveni je surfer, bavi se džiu-džicom, ali njegova prava strast je podvodni biljni svet. Na osnovu toga, ispunio je životni san kada je zaigrao u dokumentarcu National Geographic kanala, u seriji Expedition Great White koji je premijerno prikazan u junu protekle godine. Veliki je humanitarac, pa je u skladu s tim leteo u Čile da pomogne unesrećenim razornim zeljotresom, potom je boravio na Haitiju da da ruku podrške porodicama žrtava, a trenutno planira i odlazak u Japan. Inače, Voker je i ljubitelj automobila i trenutno se takmiči u Redline Time Attack trkačkoj seriji.



Šta je za vas prioritet u životu?

- Sve što je zaista važno jeste da su ljudi koje volim srećni i zdravi. Sve ostalo je samo dođe na svoje.

Kako doživljavate sebe?

- U svom biću sam nekako otac, to je moj glavni fokus i najveći deo svog vremena posećujem upravo očinstvu. Gluma je moj posao, ali to nije moj život. Imam mnogo drugih interesovanja.

Da li ste zadovoljni svojim životom?

- Po prirodi sam sanjar i kada se osvrnem i analiziram sebe, često pomislim kako je trebalo da budem muzičar. Živim udobno u svojoj koži i verujem da sam prilično razuman.

Kako doživljavate Holivud?

- Holivud je smeće. Svi misle da treba da idete po žurkama, da ludujete i da se drogirate, a šta se na kraju dogodi - izgubite trku sa životom. Ako ne radite tako, kažu vam kako ne želite da uspostavljate kontakt s ljudima. Sve je laž i obmana.

Odakle tolika ljubav za surfovanje?

- Surfovanje me smiruje, za mene je oduvek bio neka vrsta Zen iskustva. Okean je tako veličanstven, miran i strašan. Za mene ostatak sveta nestaje kada sam na talasima.

Razmišljate li o venčanju i tome da se skrasite?

- Želim da se oženim i dosta razmišljam na tu temu. Međutim, dosta mislim i na svoj automobil, tako da izgleda da moji prioriteti još nisu u potpunom skladu.

Kakve devojke vas privlače?

- Volim niske, odvažne devojke, prirodne i otvorene. Stidljive mi se nikada nisu dopadale.

Neki kažu da ste sastavljeni od suprotnosti?

- Da. Volim životinje i brinem o njima, ali idem i u lov. Veliki sam zagovornik očuvanja životne sredine, a s druge strane vozim trkački auto. Nekad se našalim da sam pištolj, ali i hipik.

Kako doživljavate život?

- Život je suviše kratak, a zaljubljivanje njegova najveća kletva.

Nedavno ste se vratili iz Brazila gde ste snimali nastavak franšize Paklene ulice 5?

- Brazil je magičan i neverovatan. Imao sam priliku da posetim neočekivana mesta, ali čak i da zapucam u favelama. Ljudi su bili tako prijateljski nastrojeni i bio sam uzbuđen što je većina takvih.

Koliko ste uživali na snimanju?

- Uživao sam isuviše jer mi je lik to dozvoljavao. Predivno je voziti brze automobile i raditi akcione scene.

Šta publika može da očekuje od filma?

- Mi im nećemo dati ono što su već imali prilike da vide u prošlosti. Sada su očekivanja mnogo veća, jer je poslednji film neverovatan. Svi smo pružili maksimum, a tu su i neka nova lica.

Vin Dizel i vi ponovo sarađujete?

- Vin i ja zajedno smo veoma dobri. Razumem ga, a mislim da i on to oseća za mene. Među nama postoji međusobno poštovanje, a to je zanimljivo jer smo potpuno različiti, dolazimo iz drugačijih sredina, ali u biti smo i slični.

Izvor: Story

U filmu Joy Ride je odlican