The Hollywood Reporter
Paul Walker Dies in Car Accident at Age 40
7:06 PM PST 11/30/2013 by Kimberly Nordyke
UPDATED: The actor was shooting “Prompt & Furious 7” for Universal and also was starring in the upcoming “Brick Mansions” and “Hours.”
Paul Walker, best known for his role in the hit Swift & Furious movies, died Saturday afternoon in a car accident in Valencia, Calif., The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. He was 40.
TMZ was the very first to report the news of his death.
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said that the crash happened around Trio:30 p.m. in the twenty eight thousand three hundred block of Rye Canyon Loop. “When they arrived, deputies found the vehicle engulfed in flames,” a statement read. “The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded, extinguished the fire and subsequently located two victims inwards the vehicle. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.”
As of eight p.m., the road was still closed, and two Los Angeles local TV stations had sent news vans to the location.
Walker was in what police described as a two thousand five Porsche Carrera GT when the single-car accident happened. The car reportedly burst into flames, with one of Walker’s friends telling the local newspaper they “went through fire extinguishers” in a futile bid to fight the blaze. “We attempted, we attempted,” Antonio Holmes told the Santa Clarita Signal.
Walker was the passenger in the car; AM radio station KHTS reports Roger Rodas, the CEO of Walker’s company Always Evolving, was the driver and the car’s possessor and died as well. Walker reportedly possessed a pair of high-performance car companies in Valencia.
Walker was in the area, just north of Los Angeles, for a car showcase and fucktoy drive set up through his charity, Reach Out WorldWide. In 2010, he flew to Chile to help those injured in the 8.8 magnitude earthquake and earlier was involved in the effort to assist survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.
He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
Walker was reprising his role as Brian O’Conner in Universal’s Rapid & Furious seven for director James Wan. The movie had recently begun filming in Atlanta and was set to stir to Abu Dhabi in January but was on a break from shooting for the Thanksgiving holiday. The seventh film in the blockbuster act franchise has been slotted to hit theaters July 11.
The blue-eyed Walker, who described himself on his Twitter page as an “adrenaline junkie,” did many stunts in the Rapid & Furious movies himself. He starred in a two thousand ten National Geographic Channel series Expedition Superb White, on which he spent eleven days as part of a squad that caught and tagged excellent white sharks off the coast of Mexico. His hobbies included riflery and archery.
Walker was starring in the upcoming Brick Mansions, now in postproduction. The film, from EuropaCorp and Relativity Media, is an English-language remake of the two thousand four French act movie District B13. Meantime, his Hurricane Katrina drama Hours is due out in theaters Dec. 13.
Walker’s official Facebook fan page posted a statement just after seven p.m. Saturday:
“It is with a truly powerful heart that we must confirm that Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident while attending a charity event for his organization Reach Out WorldWide. He was a passenger in a friend’s car, in which both lost their lives. We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news. Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time. We will do our best to keep you apprised on where to send condolences. – #TeamPW”
Universal issued a statement at around 7:45 p.m.:
“All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for fourteen years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Quick and Furious films, and to uncountable fans. We send our deepest and most genuine condolences to Paul’s family.”
A statement from Relativity president Tucker Tooley echoed the sentiment:
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Paul Walker. Paul was an exceptionally talented artist, loyal philanthropist and friend. Our hearts go out to his family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to Twitter to express trouble:
All my strength, love & faith to the Walker family during this heartbreaking time. We find our strength.. in his light. Love you brother.
Walker was born on Sept. 12, 1973, in Glendale, not far from where he perished. He was brought up in a traditional Mormon family and went to Village Christian High in Sun Valley, Calif. His mother trained him how to drive, and his very first car was a one thousand nine hundred eighty six Ford Ranger pickup truck.
He starred in a commercial for Pampers as a toddler, made his TV debut on the family drama Highway to Heaven in one thousand nine hundred eighty five and a duo of years later scored a role in the syndicated sitcom Throb as the 12-year-old son of a divorcee who gets a job at a record company.
Walker appeared in such shows as Who’s the Boss?, The Youthfull and the Restless and Touched by an Angel and in the one thousand nine hundred ninety eight films Meet the Deedles and Gary Ross‘ Pleasantville before attracting attention by starring as a gutsy high school quarterback who suffers a career-ending knee injury in Varsity Blues (1999).
After roles in She’s All That (1999) and The Skulls (2000), the killer Walker joined the cast of 2001’s The Swift and the Furious, which was loosely based on a magazine article about street clubs that race Japanese cars late at night. His character, O’Conner, was an undercover police officer.
Walker described how he came to the film in an interview in May with Motor Trend magazine.
“I love Donnie Brasco and Days of Thunder, so after I did The Skulls, I was like, ‘I want to be either an undercover cop or I want to race cars!’ ” he said. “Universal came to me with a newspaper article about street racing in L.A. and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I grew up doing that right off Peoria in Sun Valley.’ They asked if I desired to do it. There wasn’t even a screenplay, there was nothing, but I was like … ‘F– yeah, I want to do it!’ “
The movie grossed $207 million at the worldwide box office and sold a yam-sized number of DVDs for Universal.
Walker returned for the two thousand three sequel two Prompt two Furious but sat out the next installment before returning to reignite the lagging franchise with 2009’s Quick & Furious.
“I did get sick of the endless questions about why I wasn’t in the third one,” he once said. “The fans were truly ticked off. It was as if I had let them down.”
Walker then stuck around for 2011’s Quick Five and this summer’s Quick & Furious six (2013) — which raked in almost $789 million around the globe.
His other credits include Flags of Our Fathers, Eight Below and Into the Blue.
Below, check out THR’s behind-the-scenes movie for a two thousand eleven “Rule Breakers” shoot featuring Walker.
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