Paul walker’s first-rate gesture to a us army veteran.Paul Walker is best known for his role as Brian O’Conner in the Fast & Furious film series. Walker, who began his career in the 1980s as a child actor before appearing in the teen comedy, She’s All That in 1999, would cement his position as one of Hollywood’s most likeable figures.
Just two years later, he would take on his most famous role as O’Conner, pushing his fame to new levels.
Despite much of the world knowing Walker for his performance in the high-octane action driving films, there are two people who know him for a terrific act of kindness. Way back in 2004, a couple were browsing a jewellery store in Santa Barbara, California. The gentleman, Kyle Upham, had just returned from his first deployment in the Iraq Warand was soon to head back, so he decided to purchase an engagement ring for his girlfriend, Kristen.
However, many of the rings in the store were rather expensive and out of the price range of the military veteran. But someone in the store had an eye on the future Uphams and suggested that they try on a few of the more expensive items.
Kristen Upham said: “I noticed there was someone else in there but didn’t give it much thought, and we started looking at rings and whatnot, and he kept saying, ‘Go bigger’, and I kept saying, ‘No, look at the prices.’ When we were talking, we exchanged names and talked about what each of us did. And when he found out Kyle just came back from Iraq — I remember seeing the look on his face. He kind of transformed.”
It transpired that the person in the shop that day was the Fast & Furious star Walker. The Uphams left the shop that day without the ring that Kristen had her eye on but later received a call saying that a mysterious benefactor had purchased a ring for her. “One of the ladies came out holding a bag and just said, ‘Here’s your ring,’” Kristen said. “I think both of our mouths dropped.”
It transpired that it was Walker who bought the ring for the couple, although the jewellers did not confirm this at the time, at Walker’s request. After he tragically died in a car crash in 2013, the jewellers confirmed that it was indeed Walker who bought the ring.
Kristen said, “His real life speaks volumes of his character. He really did put his money where his mouth is and did good for this world. When we hand down the ring through the generations, there will always be a story to tell. It’s still to this day the most generous thing anyone has ever done for me.”
