It is with great sadness that we report the untimely death of Paul Walker, aged 40. Walker was most known for his role as cop turned outlaw Brian O’Connor in THE FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. While attending a charity event for his own charity Reach Out Worldwide, which is currently helping with relief for the Philippines after the horrendous storm,Walker was involved in a car accident which took both his life and the life of the driver on the afternoon of Saturday 30th November. A statement via Walker’s Facebook page announced the shocking news:
It is with a truly heavy 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.
This was shortly followed up by a statement from Universal, the production company behind all 6 (and the upcoming 7th) FAST AND FURIOUS films:
Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul’s family.
Although best known for his role as Brian O’Connor, Walker was the star of a number of underrated films such as my personal favourite of his, JOY RIDE (titled ROADKILL in the UK) which saw Walker and his older brother (Steve Zahn) try and evade the attention of a psychotic truck driver. Walker also gave a fantastic performance in the kinetic RUNNING SCARED where he played a low-level gangster after his missing gun.
Born in 1973, Walker made his film debut in Troma’s very entertaining low budget MONSTER IN THE CLOSET back in 1986. He crafted a career as a likable and calm actor, often providing the voice of reason in his films. This tragic event is made even more cruel due to Walker’s connection to vehicle related movies. Survived by his 15 year old daughter, our thoughts go out to Walker’s family and friends at this time. He will be sorely missed.
We would like to take this moment to bring attention to Paul Walker’s organisation REACH OUT WORLDWIDE!
Source: Paul Walker’s Facebook Page
