Paul Walker Ready to Quit ‘Fast & Furious’ Films Before He Died: Dad
Paul Walker was ready to quit acting and become a full-time dad before he was killed in a car accident. His father Paul Walker Sr revealed that the late actor wasn’t happy to commit to more “Fast & Furious” films.
Paul was halfway through filming the seventh instalment of the “Fast & Furious” film franchise when he met his death in a fatal single-car accident in California on Nov 30, 2014. The cast and crew of the film temporarily shut down the production as a respect to the beloved actor, but once they started production, they enlisted the help of his younger brother Caleb and Cody to be stand-ins for his character Brian O’Conner.
As many have speculated, if it were not for Paul’s untimely demise, he would still be doing sequels to the multi-billion film franchise. However, his dad revealed that Paul had wanted out. Walker Sr also said that it’s not just the “Fast & Furious” films that Paul wanted to give up, but also the “Agent 47” film series, which he had signed on to play but had not started to film.
According to Walker Sr, Paul wanted to quit acting to devote his time to raising his 15-year-old daughter Meadow. Unfortunately, the actor wasn’t able to do any of those after the Porsche Carrera GT that he was in crashed.
“Paul was planning on taking a break from starring in movies, stepping away from Hollywood, to spend more time with Meadow,” his father told the Daily Mail. “He was so proud of her, she is incredibly intelligent and beautiful, and Paul wanted to be there for her as she grew up.”
He continued, “In fact, he would’ve swapped his Hollywood fame for the quit life with Meadow. Paul wasn’t big on fame and preferred to live modestly. But he signed on for the Agent 47 movie about a hit man, and it was already agreed that if it was successful there would be three further movies made. That was something he confessed to me he wished he hadn’t done because he wanted to be with Meadow.”
Paul was apparently “bored of the car thing” already, and had “rediscovered the ocean and had taken up surfing again.” He was about to give up his glamorous life of fast cars and Hollywood limelight to live in a modest way and perhaps just pack a sleeping bag to camp in the wild.
Meadow was Paul’s daughter with his former girlfriend Rebecca Soteros. After his death, a custody battle for Meadow was laid out in court between his mother Cheryl Walker and Soteros. A compromise has been reached outside the courtrooms.
Walker Sr also revealed that his “Fast & Furious” co-stars Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris looked up to him as their older brother. At 40 at the time of his death in 2013, he is a few years older than 35-year-old Tyrese and 37-year-old Ludacris.
“Tyrese, Ludacris and Paul were all very tight,” Paul’s father said. “Tyrese and Ludacris looked up to Paul on set and even called him their older brother, Tyrese told me that. Paul kept them both in check if he ever felt they were being too big for their boots while they were filming and they loved him for it.”
Universal Pictures have recently announced that it is releasing at least three more “Fast & Furious” films after the latest one, “Fast 7,” hits cinemas in April. Paul’s character wouldn’t be featured anymore, as the future films would explore new characters.