Author: Melanie Bromley / Source: E! Online
It’s been almost five years since the world lost Paul Walker in a tragic car accident.
He was just 40 years old at the time, a star of one of the most successful movie franchises on the planet, and a father of a teenage daughter. His death is something many people are still trying to come to terms with.
Now, in a bid to try to heal some of the wounds, Paul’s family and friends have contributed to I Am Paul Walker, a new documentary about the reluctant movie star. For the first time, thanks to intimate home videos and extensive interviews, we are getting a glimpse into the notoriously private actor’s life away from the camera.
His younger brothers, Cody and Caleb, opened up to E! News about what life’s been like since Paul’s passing; the actor and activist’s secret hopes and dreams for his daughter, Meadow Rain, and how his Fast and the Furious co-stars coped with Walker’s death.
Why was it important for you both to get involved in this documentary?
Cody: Paul is a lot of things to a lot of people. [His death] had its toll on our family and people that were close to him. Typically you know when you have these big [family] reunions, it’s for a funeral or a wedding and the last time, sadly, a lot of us extended family got together was when Paul passed away. So this is bringing people back together again while at the same time honoring Paul and all of the wonderful things he did because he did so much for so many people…
Caleb: He kind of forgot about himself sometimes, he took care of so many other people around him.
That’s one thing that kind of eats us up… he had such a big heart but he wouldn’t always find time for his own well-being.
Has the documentary succeeded in bringing Paul’s family back together?
Caleb: Last night we got to see it with 100 of our family and friends.
Cody: The screening was incredible. I would love to go on about how it’s been nothing but rainbows and sunshine for the last four years but that would be a lie… [The screening] was a family reunion and the documentary paints such a beautiful picture of who he really was. The movie star, that’s the part that everybody kind of hones in on and wants to talk about, but it doesn’t define Paul at all….
Was Meadow at the family screening?
Cody: She was not.
Has she seen the documentary?
Cody: She was.
What was her reaction to it?
Cody: Paul was a lot of things to a lot of people and it’s tough because being the daughter that grew up in a non-traditional type of household with a dad she had to share the world with is really difficult. She’s dealing with it in her own way as everybody has done.
Caleb: I think she’ll be proud of it.
Why wasn’t she involved in the making of the film?
Caleb: She’s a reserved young lady. She’s on the shyer, more reserved side. Maybe she needed a few more years, who knows. But we totally respect that. Obviously we would’ve loved to have her in it, but she wasn’t ready.
You’ve both said you wish Paul had more time because there were other things he wanted to accomplish, outside of acting. If he were alive today, what would he be doing?
Caleb: He had mixed emotions about the industry. Parts of it, he liked, other parts, he didn’t. He was actually starting to really enjoy the challenge of certain roles. I believe he’d still be acting, he was just getting to a point where he was able to be more selective. He loved the Fast family, and that wasn’t going to go away.
He had his daughter, Meadow [now 19], living with him for the last year of his life. How did that change things for him?
Cody: It was a huge conflict for him because he was so excited when she came to the mainland because she grew up in Hawaii. He had just signed on to a major three-movie deal to a whole other franchise and wanted to immediately pull himself out of it but it was too late. He would always say, “I…
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