Paul Walker matures as actor in crime thriller ‘Running Scared’
In terms of his career, Paul Walker felt he had a little maturing to do on screen. He accomplishes that with “Running Scared,” an adult-oriented crime thriller packed with steamy sex, bloody violence and enough four-letter words to make Howard Stern blush. Walker plays a low-level New Jersey mobster who mishandles the disposal of a gun used in the shooting of a corrupt cop during a drug deal gone wrong and then finds himself in a race against time with Mafia soldiers, Russian gangsters and crooked officers.
The R-rated picture nicely balances the 32-year-old actor’s previous effort, the PG-rated “Eight Below,” a family friendly Disney adventure tale that teams him with eight dogs and opened at the top of the box office last weekend by grossing more than $20 million.
“‘Running Scared’ is definitely different from the stuff that I’ve done in the past,” Walker said in his Philadelphia hotel suite during a publicity tour for his new film, which opens Feb. 24. “It’s a bit more grown up.
“I had fun doing ‘The Fast and the Furious’ movies (the 2001 original and the 2003 sequel, “2 Fast 2 Furious”). When I was first coming up, I did teen comedies like ‘Varsity Blues’ (1999) and ‘She’s All That’ (1999), and early on, I was in (the critically acclaimed) ‘Pleasantville’ (1998).
“My ideal path was to pick and choose (projects), and people thought this and that about me and some liked the way I looked, so I was cast in certain roles for one reason or another.
“But now, some time has gone on, and I have a certain marquee value, which gives me an opportunity to make a movie like ‘Running Scared,’ which is really what it’s all about for me. I’m real competitive with myself, and I can honestly say that with every movie I’ve done, I feel like I’ve improved by leaps and bounds.
“I’m just hoping to continue to do that.”
A native of Glendale, Calif., Walker began acting in commercials as a child. By the mid-1980s, he was appearing in sitcoms such as “Charles in Charge,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Diff’rent Strokes” and on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” (1993), while looking for a big-screen break.
He first gained attention opposite Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon in “Pleasantville” (1998), director Gary Ross’ charming tale about characters trapped in the seemingly innocent sitcom world of the 1950s. Walker’s other efforts include the slick chiller “Joy Ride” (2001) with Leelee Sobieski and the underwater thriller “Into the Blue” (2005) with Jessica Alba.
For Walker, the challenge of “Running Scared” was to create a believable mobster capable of breaking bones or shooting enemies at any moment. He looked to his past for a way to play the tough-guy part.
“I was intimidated by the role, but at the same time, I was so grateful to be given the opportunity,” he said. “To me, the character is more attitude than anything. I grew up on the West Coast in the San Fernando Valley, where I had a lot of Latino friends and where there were a lot of Latino gangsters in various gangs.
“I knew the attitude and the mind set, and that carries over from coast to coast. A gangster is a gangster with street smarts and attitude.”
Walker, who recently completed director Clint Eastwood’s World War II drama, “Flags of Our Fathers,” about the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima, related to “Running Scared” on another level. The story deals with a desperate man doing his best to provide for his wife and son and to keep them safe.
To play the role, Walker, who graduated from California’s Village Christian High School in 1991, drew upon memories of his parents’ efforts to care for their three sons and one daughter.
“I was pretty fortunate, because my family did their best to hold it together,” he recalled. “My mom is tough. She’s a pioneer woman, and she had to be, because my dad’s a tough cat.
“He’s a Vietnam veteran and a biker. He cleaned up his act when he met my mom, and she said (to him), ‘Look, if you want to take this the distance, here’s what you have to do.'”
Does he think his mother might be bothered by some of the graphic sexual and violent elements in “Running Scared?”
“My family is very religious and I was raised Mormon,” Walker said. “I don’t know if my mom will see ‘Running Scared,’ but I don’t think she’ll be able to resist, because she knows how much this film meant to me, how much I loved being a part of this and how proud I am of it.
“Yes, she will see it, and she’ll be happy for me.”
Exhibitors pick biggest stars
Who are the big screen favorites of film exhibitors, the folks who run and own movie theaters?
At the top of the 2005 list are Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who play Johnny Cash and June Carter in the hit “Walk the Line.”
In a “Starpoll” taken by the trade publication Boxoffice magazine, exhibitors named Phoenix and Witherspoon, who are nominated for Oscars as best actor and actress, as the male and female star of 2005. Exhibitors certainly appreciated the way the two stars helped to transform the modestly mounted “Walk the Line” into a hit that grossed more than $80 million. (The PG-13 biography will arrive Feb. 28 on DVD.)
The top five in both categories and the top three winners in the “breakout” star categories are:
Male Star of the Year
1. Phoenix
2. Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain” and “Casanova”)
3. Vince Vaughn (“Wedding Crashers”)
4. George Clooney (“Syriana” and “Good Night, And Good Luck”)
5. Johnny Depp (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)
Female Star of the Year
1. Witherspoon
2. Jessica Alba (“Sin City,” “Fantastic Four” and “In Too Deep”)
3. Rachel McAdams (“Red Eye,” “The Family Stone” and “Wedding Crashers”)
4. Dakota Fanning (“War of the Worlds” and “Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story”)
5. Joan Allen (“The Upside of Anger”)
Breakout Male of the Year
1. Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow,” “Four Brothers” and “Crash”)
2. Daniel Craig (“Layer Cake” and “Munich;” Craig will play 007 in the next Bond film, “Casino Royale,” arriving in November)
3. James McAvoy (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”)
Breakout Female of the Year
1. Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”)
2. Ginnifer Goodwin (“Walk the Line”)
3. Georgie Henley (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”)