Jordana Brewster Reflects On Grieving Paul Walker’s Death

Actress Jordana Brewster reflects on grieving her Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker’s death. Brewster starred with Walker in the very first The Fast & The Furious in 2001, which introduced her character, Mia Toretto, as well as Walker’s Brian O’Conner. The two would star in five of the franchise films altogether, including Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7, which was Walker’s last film before his death. Walker died in a car accident while filming was underway on Furious 7, which caused a temporary hiatus on production.

Director James Wan would finish the film with a combination of digital effects and utilizing Walker’s own brothers, Cody and Caleb Walker, to perform as stunt doubles in the place of the late actor. The film went on to be a massive success, earning $1.5 billion worldwide and crafting a fitting legacy to Walker, whose character lives on off screen in the franchise. The most recent entry in the film, F9, references his character as being alive and even features him pulling up into a driveway at the end of the film, although he’s never seen.

Talking to People, Jordana Brewster reflected on the loss of Walker and dealing with the grief of his death, saying that it “goes in waves where it’s super visceral at times, and it’s like it’s unimaginable that that person’s not with us anymore.” The actress was interviewed after she and the rest of the F&F cast paid tribute to the late actor on September 12, which would have been his 48th birthday. Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Walker’s own daughter, Meadow, all shared tributes to Walker on social media in remembrance of the special day. Brewster says that each year she has a way of “honoring him on his birthday and remembering him and celebrating him,” saying that she thinks “that’s also part of what’s nice about when the cast is together is that we do honor and celebrate him as well.” In addition, Brewster talked about Walker’s impact and how the grief still comes in waves, saying:

I think when someone passes away that has a huge impact on your life and has had a huge impact, frankly, on so many people’s lives. It just gets very intense and then sometimes it’s less intense. But it just comes in waves, regardless of whether it’s that person’s birthday or not.

Brewster took a hiatus for the eighth film in the series, The Fate of the Furious, but returned to F9 and is expected to be a part of the next two films, which are meant to close out the current storyline. Director Justin Lin has said that both F10 and F11 will be one story between two films. Brewster has worked steadily in-between Fast & Furious films, including work on American Horror Story, Magnum P.I., Secrets and Lies, Lethal Weapon and a host of film work.

While Paul Walker is mostly known for his work in the Fast & Furious franchise, he was also a humanitarian, a marine biology enthusiast, a car collector and racer, and regularly practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His impact and connection to the cast and crew of the Fast & Furious franchise can’t be understated and the films have continued to try and pay homage or nod to his character ever since his death. How they’ll wrap up his story line for the final two films is yet to be determined, but it’s likely that there will be a fitting tribute of some type given the love and respect the F&F family continue to hold for the late actor.

Source: People

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