Walk Like a Man

Most actors will tell you they're just regular guys. Most actors will tell you they put their pants on one leg at a time. But then, as soon as most actors get home, they push a button on their Halliburton Simultaneous DuaLeg TrouserDonner 5000s for a quick change before ringing their butlers and demanding a carb-free martini. In short, most actors are about as far from regular guys as you can get. Paul Walker, the surf-addicted, SoCal-born son of a fashion model mother and a Harley-riding, sewer engineer father, isn't one of these actors. For a guy who grew up making guest spots on your favorite '80s sitcoms (Who's The Boss?, Diff'rent Strokes), and now, at least on screen, spends his days racing cars (The Fast And The Furious), as a member of the illuminati (The Skulls), skinny-dipping with Jessica Alba (Into The Blue), and going deep undercover (Running Scared), Walker's shockingly everyman in his demeanor.

The Smokehouse, the Los Angeles restaurant where we meet 32-year-old Paul William Walker IV, has a kitschy practice of taking your picture when you enter and turning it into a souvenir keychain while you eat. Walker poses for the picture happily. Not like a big star posing for a courtesy shot, but like a guy who thinks souvenir photo keychains are kinda funny. Walker's normalcy isn't an affectation, a fact he underlines by ordering a Belvedere and soda, ribs, and then promptly sparking our conversation with, "Dude, do you blaze?" Pun intended.

Um, no. Dry air just makes my eyes red. Are we starting? Because there are a lot of questions...

Yeah. Go ahead. I'm ready.

Good. You've been pretty busy this year, haven't you?

Shit. I've been selling the hell out of a Disney movie today. I'm wondering, "What did I get myself into?" You sell a movie for Disney, you become the cheesiest guy ever.

That would be Eight Below? The story of an abandoned sled-dog team surviving in the wild? What did you have to do?

Bullshit and more bullshit. No. It's just the game I hate. I guess it could be worse. First I had a photo shoot, then I went and sat on this mountainscape stage with photos of the dogs. Then they put this fake snow over everything and positioned one of the dogs next to me and I said, "Hi everyone! Welcome to E! Behind The Scenes. I'm Paul Walker and I'm here with my buddy Max."

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