Fast and Furious – RIP action star Paul Walker

In theaters Friday: Inside Llewyn Davis, Out of the Furnace
New on Blu-ray: Drinking Buddies, The Wolverine

At the age of 40, veteran film actor Paul Walker died this weekend—in a horrific car crash, no less, a gruesome connection to the car racing films that had made him a bonafide bankable star in the blockbuster Fast and Furious series.

The So-Cal native lived and worked in Baton Rouge in 2012 while starring as “Raw Dog” in the wild Tarantino-esque comedy Pawn Shop Chronicles. The film from director Wayne Kramer features the quirkiest of plots—both meth heads and Elvis impersonators make appearances—and supporting cast, including Matt Dillon, Elijah Wood and Vincent D’Onofrio. By all accounts from those who knew and worked with him locally, Walker was a professional but completely laid back actor who was an incredibly approachable and friendly guy to not only cast and crew, but fans alike.

Jeremy Woolsey, a Louisiana-based art director for film productions and a co-owner of Mud and Water, worked with Walker. He remembers the late actor as “incredibly warm and engaging.”

“Paul brought a level of calm and professionalism to the set as both actor and producer,” Woolsey says.

Another Louisiana connection: Walker’s New Orleans-filmed Hurricane Katrina drama Hours is slated for release Dec. 13. No word on that date changing as of yet. Watch that trailer below:

Walker’s likability and ease with fans may be due to the fact that he grew up in the industry. After some early work as a child in commercials and on soap operas, Walker spent his teen years making guest appearances on popular television shows like Highway to Heaven, Who’s the Boss? and Charles in Charge. During his long transition to becoming a popular actor in his 20s and 30s, Walker’s career was marked with what might have been—he was a finalist for the role of Anakin Skywalker that went to Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels—and a slate of light-weight comedies and schlocky dramas that traded on his All-American looks while offering little in the way of depth: She’s All That, Varsity Blues and the guilty-pleasure Ivy League secret society classic The Skulls.

The Fast and the Furious arrived as a surprise smash in 2001, but after his sudden fame failed to lead to a more diverse career on screen—Eight Below being a particularly dire comedic attempt—Walker seemed to fully embrace what he does well to claim his role as a modern action hero. His enthusiasm helped relaunch the Fast franchise with the original cast in 2009. Three sequels later and Fast has taken up with verve what the Ocean’s 11 series and The Italian Job one-off abdicated: a thrilling heist franchise America just can’t get enough of.

Reports indicate that Walker had shot the bulk of his scenes for Fast and Furious 7 when he died. Other than an obvious production delay, details on that film’s status in light of its star’s tragic passing have yet to be released, though director James Wan did huddle with studio executives about the film early Sunday morning.

Most know him as Fast‘s Brian O’Connor, but beyond the tracks of that hit franchise, here are three films that show Walker was capable of far more than looking good while putting the pedal to the metal:

Pleasantville (1998)
For a small role in this brilliant social satire from Gary Ross (The Hunger Games), Walker expertly played into and against his own type as the squeaky clean team captain Skip Martin whose naiveté clashes hilariously with the cutesy advances of a blushing Reese Witherspoon.

Joy Ride (2001)
Co-written by current Star Wars honcho J.J. Abrams, this tight, dark road trip thriller finds Walker starring opposite Treme’s Steve Zahn and facing the advances of a psychotic killer after a CB radio prank goes horribly wrong.

Flags of our Fathers (2006)
As a soldier mistakenly identified as one of six men raising the American flag over Iwo Jima in the iconic photograph, Walker offers a restrained, internally tortured post-war performance in this sprawling WWII drama from Clint Eastwood.

Below, watch Walker discuss his work, his fans and his competitive nature in this segment of Unscripted with his Into the Blue co-star Jessica Alba. His bare feet in this clip kind of say it all: