Paul Walker was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Walker was born on September 12, 1973, in Glendale, California. His mother, Cheryl, was a fashion model, and his father, Paul William Walker III, was a sewer contractor and former amateur boxer, who was a two-time Golden Gloves champion. Walker's paternal grandfather, William, had a short-lived boxing career as "Irish" Billy Walker, while another raced factory cars for Ford in the 1960s.

Raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[6] Walker had four younger siblings: Aimee, Ashlie, Caleb, and Cody. He spent the majority of his early life in the Sunland neighborhood of Los Angeles, and graduated from Village Christian School in 1991. Walker subsequently attended several community colleges in Southern California, majoring in marine biology.

Paul Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recognition in the 1990s after appearing in the television soap opera The Young and the Restless; he received praise for his performances in the teen comedy She's All That and the comedy-drama Varsity Blues, and saw international fame by starring in The Fast and the Furious.

He also starred in the commercially successful road thriller Joy Ride, becoming an action star. He followed this with the box-office disappointments Into the Blue and Running Scared, although he earned praise for his performance in the survival drama Eight Below, and for his portrayal of Hank Hansen in Flags of Our Fathers. Outside of these, Walker largely appeared in low budget action films, but starred in the commercially successful heist film Takers.

Walker died in a single-vehicle collision on November 30, 2013, as a passenger in a speeding car. His father and daughter filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against Porsche, which resulted in settlements. At the time of his death, Walker had not completed filming Furious 7 ; it was released after rewrites and stand-ins, including his brothers Cody and Caleb, both of whom filled in for Walker, while the song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth was commissioned as a tribute.

On November 30, 2013, at about 3:30 p.m. PST, Walker, 40, and Roger Rodas, 38, left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, with Rodas driving his red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. Traveling between 80 mph and 93 mph in a 45 mph speed zone on Hercules Street in Valencia, a neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California, Rodas lost control of the car and crashed into a concrete lamp post and two trees off the road, catching fire within seconds after impact. According to forensic evidence gathered from the scene, both men were knocked out by the impact. Rodas died instantly from multiple physical trauma while Walker died within seconds from the combined effects of physical trauma and burns. Both of their bodies were burned beyond recognition.

The curve where Walker and Rodas died is a popular spot for drifting cars.No alcohol or other drugs were found in either man's system, and neither mechanical failure nor road conditions appeared to play a role.Police found no evidence of drag racing. The investigation concluded that the car's speed and age of the tires were the primary reasons for the crash.