4. Paul Walker Perishes In A Car Accident While Filming For Fast & Furious 7
Paul Walker wasn't the most famous actor in Hollywood, but you'd be pressed to find anybody who had a bad word to say about him - he did what he did, and did it well. Best renowned for his frequent turns as car-obsessed gearhead Brian O'Conner in the Fast and Furious franchise, he was one reoccurring element - much like Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto - that fans enjoyed catching up with as each installment piled on. As Conner, a cop who - over the course of the series - leaves behind his dutiful life as an undercover detective to pull off extensive heists and race turbo-charged vehicles down narrow streets, Walker was never anything but affable. In real life, Walker was - like his character - obsessed with cars. As critic Robbie Collin once wrote: "Like Steve McQueen and Barry Newman, simply looked good behind the wheel of a fast car," and he's right. The most endearing thing about Walker was that there was little sense of arrogance or ego about him; his performances in the Fast and Furious flicks, fairly low key and understated as they were, were all about emphasising his good looks and natural charisma. As a poster boy for a series that literally celebrates its own shallowness, he was perfect - though there's no denying he played Conner with a wry sense of self-awareness, just happy to be part. Given his tendency to live life in the fast lane, then, it's somewhat ironic that Paul Walker's untimely death came as the result of a car crash, which occurred when he and a friend were cruising at speeds of up to 100mph back in December 2013. Riding shotgun in a doomed Porsche Carrera GT, Walker was killed when the vehicle collided with a tree. Though he was a mere passenger at the time of his death, there are undeniable comparisons to be made between the tragic incident and the explosive, adrenaline-clad sequences inherent to his most famous film ventures: all said and done, there's no denying that Paul Walker certainly died as he had lived.
