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"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, Flaunt, July 2001
growing up...
Paul William Walker was born on September 12, 1973 in Glendale, California. A native of Southern California, Paul grew up active in sports like soccer and surfing, with brothers Cody and Caleb and sister Ashlie. His mother was a model, which lead to Paul modeling and acting as a young child. Some of his early TV work includes episodes of "Charles in Charge", "Highway to Heaven", "Who's the Boss?", and "Diff'rent Strokes". In 1986, Paul starred in the horror spoof Monster in the Closet and was featured on the tv series "Throb" (1986-87).
finding his way...
After finishing Village Christian High School, Paul joined the cast of "The Young & The Restless" as Brandon Collins for a 2-year stint. He was young, making money and starring in the top rated soap opera on television. Paul started spending more money than he had and after the job ended, he tried attending Santa Barbara City College to work towards a Marine Biology degree. In fact, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of his favorite places and he said in YM Magazine's 1999 April issue that, "I've always wanted to be a marine biologist. I took a bunch of marine bio and oceanography classes in school. I still love it. I watch the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet all the time."
With encouragement from friends and an old casting agent who remembered him as a child, he decided to try his luck once more with acting. He has said however, that if he were to give up acting, he'd like to go back to school and get a teaching credential as he finds teaching very gratifying. He is also quoted as saying, "I love photography. I'm considering going to art school. I have an F100 35mm Nikon and I'm getting a Mamiya 645. I shoot people, animals, buildings, sailboats and sunsets," in Teen Movieline magazine's Fall 2000 issue.
a star back on track...
Back to acting Paul went, starring in Meet the Deedles and moving on to Pleasantville, Varsity Blues, She's All That and The Skulls. Slowly, Paul has been working on his acting and scoring more and more roles in Hollywood. He was chosen to be one of the young stars featured on the cover of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood issue in April 2000. While the other stars on the cover, brooded and tried their best to look sexy and serious, Paul smiled brightly and showed why he is not part of the norm. This is one young actor who certainly stands apart from the rest of the crowd, not only with his talent but with his attitude. The Dallas Morning News commented in March of 2000 that, "Paul is one of the rarest birds in Hollywood- a pretension free movie star."
Paul doesn't like to watch his own movies, but his fans sure do. He hopes to find more dramatic roles and would like to produce himself one day. Paul also warns those wanting to make it in the business to avoid the hyped up Hollywood scene that is the downfall of so many young stars. As Paul said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News in February of 1999 that, "Some people say that you should go to all the parties, to the nightclubs, the Viper Room, and make contacts. And I look at them and say, 'You don't want to have contacts with those people.' Look at what happened to River Phoenix. If you get caught up in that, it ruins you. Hollywood is garbage... It's the scene that's garbage, not Hollywood. The best thing I could do for my career is to stay away from that scene as much as possible, to keep working on my acting."
Friends used to call Paul the Vagrant because he did not live in one place for long. He traveled often taking his belongings, including his surf board, in his Ford Explorer. He lives off and on with his brother and friends. Never settling in one place perhaps due to his years after he stopped acting when he bounced around from friends' couches to camping by the beach. Paul traveled all over the world during his haitus from acting. He's visited Fiji, Spain, Bora Bora, Greece and Costa Rica. He has mentioned that Costa Rica would be his ideal place to settle down since he hates the city and loves surfing, nature and the beach.
Yet, once Paul got back into acting it quickly become a passion. As Paul said in Flaunt Magazine's July 2001 issue, "I've really gotten into it. It's not about working anymore, its about doing work I can be proud of... I want to do movies that I want to see. It's as simple as that." Paul is continuing to make movies as he attracts more and more fans. In 2000, he won Exciting New Face in Movieline's Young Hollywood Awards, proving once more, that he is indeed one face to watch out for.
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