Walker was born on Sept. 12, 1973, and raised near Los Angeles where he made his debut at age two as a diapered toddler in a commercial for Pampers. With a former model for a mother and a building contractor father, it was probably predestined that Walker would grow into a attractive, strapping young man; one who found it relatively easy to break into television after landing guest roles on "Highway to Heaven" (NBC, 1984-89), "Charles in Charge" (CBS, 1984-85; syndicated, 1987-1990) and "Growing Pains" (ABC, 1985-1992). Walker maintained steady employment with a regular role on the syndicated series "Throb” and a season on the legendary soap opera, "The Young and the Restless" (CBS, 1973- ). During the 1994-95, season Walker also enjoyed a role in the short-lived sitcom "The Boys Are Back" (CBS), starring as a teenager whose adult brothers move back into the family home. Walker made his feature film starring debut in 1998 in Disney's "Meet the Deedles,” where his background in surfing and extreme sports proved useful for a movie about adventurous, free-spirited twins wreaking havoc in Yellowstone National Park. The same year, he had a featured role in the critical darling, "Pleasantville," as an earnest basketball player trapped in a black-and-white sitcom world until a 1990s girl (Reese Witherspoon) woos him into color.
His classic jock-next-door looks suited Walker perfectly for the part of football quarterback Lance Harbor in "Varsity Blues" (1999). In the box-office hit, Walker did a fine job of tracing the fall of an injured local hero who has little left when his high school football career is sidelined. Taking on a more villainous character, Walker appeared as Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s callous friend and rival in "She's All That" (1999), turning in an impressive comedic performance as a popular creep who refuses to forget a bet he makes with school golden boy Zack (Prinze) to turn awkward, unpopular Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) into the prom queen. He also served up more dramatic work that year in "Brokedown Palace,” as the boyfriend of one of a pair of young American travelers (Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale) imprisoned in Thailand for drug smuggling. After first working with journeyman director Rob Cohen on the B-level thriller "The Skulls" (2000), Cohen provided Walker with his breakout role when he cast him in "The Fast and the Furious" (2001), a high-octane action thriller in which Walker plays a detective infiltrating a ring of street-racing car thieves led by Vin Diesel. The film, which debuted with little fanfare or expectation, became a surprise hit. As a result, Diesel was proclaimed an overnight superstar, Cohen became an A-list director and Walker became a hot commodity at last.
Another competent auto-focused thriller, "Joyride" (2001), added a bit of extra luster to Walker's action hero sheen, but before he could establish himself firmly in other roles, he returned – without Diesel or Cohen – to head the cast of the sequel "2 Fast, 2 Furious” (2003). The John Singleton-directed sequel paired Walker’s character with an ex-con buddy (Tyrese Gibson) to pull off an undercover heist. Surprising to some who expected the Diesel-free film to tank, “2 Fast” made off with over $200 million in box office receipts. Walker’s follow-up, the big budget Michael Crichton adventure adaptation “Timeline” (2003), was an unfortunate misfire, while the Christmas drama “Noel” (2004), directed by Chazz Palminteri, showcased the actor in a more sensitive new light. Unfortunately, it received limited theatrical release. Walker returned to thriller territory with “Into the Blue” (2005), playing opposite Jessica Alba as one of four divers who discover a crashed plane full of illicit cargo and make a pact to keep their discovery quiet. Despite the interesting premise and appealing cast, “Into the Blue” was scorned by critics.
In “Running Scared” (2006), Walker received star billing for playing a low-level Mafia thug embroiled in a cop killing, but the over-the-top thriller was a veritable bomb at the box office and with critics. The actor fared better in Disney’s family blockbuster “8 Below” (2006), an adventure yarn about a team of sled dogs finding their way across the Antarctic wastelands after being abandoned by a group of explorers. Sticking to more legitimately dramatic work, Walker was next cast in the critically acclaimed “Flags of Our Fathers” (2006), Clint Eastwood’s historical drama about the six soldiers who famously raised the American flag in Iwo Jima near the end of World War II. After appearing in this much lauded drama, Walker returned to the genre best suited to his particular talents – starring in the rote actioner “The Death and Life of Bobby Z” (2007) – but made another attempt to explore more dramatic tones as a former criminal who gets a second chance at life in the low profile "The Lazarus Project" (2008). In 2009, Walker re-teamed with his original cast mates – including Vin Diesel – eight years later for the sequel "Fast & Furious." Not unexpectedly, the retread project did not excite critics, but diehard fans showed up en mass, bringing in record-breaking ticket sales on opening weekend.