Brian O'Conner is a fictional character and the former protagonist of the ''
Fast & Furious
''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...
'' franchise. He is portrayed by
Paul Walker
Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
Paul Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gainin ...
and first appeared on film with fellow protagonist
Dominic Toretto
Dominic "Dom" Toretto is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Vin Diesel and first appeared on film with the other fellow protagonist Brian O'Conner in '' The Fast and the ...
in ''
The Fast and the Furious'' (2001). Brian was created by screenwriter
Gary Scott Thompson
Gary Scott Thompson (born October 7, 1959) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He worked on projects including '' The Fast and the Furious,'' its sequel '' 2 Fast 2 Furious;'' '' Hollow Man,'' '' Split Second;'' '' 8 ...
, who was inspired by an article on
street racing
Street racing is an illegal form of motor racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the a ...
that was published in the May 1998 issue of ''
Vibe
Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
Vibe may also refer to:
People
* DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ
* Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' magazine. Walker was directly approached by director
Rob Cohen
Robert Alan Cohen (born March 12, 1949) is an American director and producer of film and television. Beginning his career as an executive producer at 20th Century Fox, Cohen produced and developed numerous high-profile film and television progr ...
to play the character.
O'Conner, under the alias Brian Earl Spilner, first interacts with Dominic as an undercover police officer tasked with bringing him to the law. However, he helps him evade police capture twice, and also helps erase the criminal record of childhood friend
Roman Pearce. These events help build many of his attributes: often the second in command to Dominic, Brian is shown to be honorable, honest, and protective, especially in regards to his family and wife,
Mia Toretto
''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is an American action film series centered on street racing, Heist films, heists, Spy films, spies, and family.
The following is a list of characters from the film franchise.
Ca ...
. Brian is also respectful and believes in delivering fair justice. He is also a keen driver, and challenges Dominic, the implied strongest racer in the group, to races throughout the series.
The role's popularity allowed Walker to become a bankable Hollywood star. He won the 2002 and 2014
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its 1992 MTV Movie Awards, first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginnin ...
for Best On-Screen Team with
Vin Diesel
Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...
for his performances, and Walker became strongly identified with the character, with Brian being widely considered among the primary reasons of the longevity of the series. After Walker's death, the character was retired in ''
Furious 7
''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and the seventh i ...
'' (2015).
Character biography
Early life
Brian was born on July 14, 1978, and raised by his mother in
Barstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Barstow is an impor ...
. He remembers little of his father and is close childhood friends with
Roman Pearce; attending the same high school, the pair also dated the same women.
Once Brian earned his drivers permit, he was involved in a five-car pile-up on
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
driving with his mother. The brakes of the car in front locked up, while another car hit them from behind. He joined the
Los Angeles Police Department
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
(LAPD), and two months into his tenure on the force, Roman was arrested for housing stolen cars in a garage. While Brian was not involved in the arrest, Roman assumed Brian may have helped him in some capacity; Roman then resents his childhood friend and his association with law enforcement.
Appearances
''The Fast and the Furious''
During the events of the first film, Brian is working as an
undercover detective with the
LAPD
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
, who assigns him the task of solving a series of semi-trailer truck hijackings. He is given a very short amount of time to find the people responsible before the truckers start arming themselves with shotguns and taking matters into their own hands. Their only lead is a description of the vehicles used — black
Honda Civics with green neon underglow.
When investigating the street race scene, Brian then meets Dominic Toretto whose crew he later infiltrates, first as a rival racer, in a race which he loses, then as a member after helping Dom escape the police. While running with Dom, he proceeds to investigate rival race crews led by
Johnny Tran (played by
Rick Yune) and Hector (
Noel Gugliemi
Noel Albert Gugliemi is an American actor best known for his portrayals of Southern Californian gangsters. Gugliemi played Hector in '' The Fast and the Furious'' and '' Furious 7'', and loosely reprised the role for other media.
Early life
G ...
). He even goes as far as to organize and lead a large
SWAT
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
team into Johnny Tran's house after finding large amounts of merchandise, the kind from the highway robberies, while infiltrating his garage. Although the merchandise is illegal, they find nothing on Tran except a few minor charges — which leaves only Dom as a suspect. Brian soon finds out Toretto is responsible after watching him suddenly leave in the middle of a party at Race Wars and seeing Mia weeping to herself. He then reveals himself to Mia as a police officer and convinces her that if he does not get to her brother and his crew fast, they could get seriously injured or killed by the truckers who have begun to carry firearms.
As Brian and Mia race out to stop Dominic from making another highway robbery, two of his drivers,
Letty (
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. She began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Awards, Independent S ...
) and Vincent, are injured in the process, with Letty rolling her car on the side of the road and Vincent being shot in the side by a shotgun from the truck driver who they tried to hijack. Brian saves Vincent, only to reveal to Dom that he is a cop. Brian later finds Dominic at his house attempting to look for Jesse (
Chad Lindberg
Chad Tyler Lindberg (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles in '' The Fast and the Furious'' and '' October Sky'', as well as television roles on ''Sons of Anarchy'' and ''Supernatural''. Lindberg was also the ...
) when Tran and his accomplice roll up on their motorbikes pulling a
drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before l ...
on the Toretto house, narrowly missing everyone there except for Jesse who is killed in the process.
Both men then drive after Tran and his accomplice, with Dom running the accomplice of the road while Brian fatally shoots Tran. Afterward, Brian chases Dom, who he then races, resulting in Dominic winning closely just before he is hit by another car. After surviving his car rolling over, Brian later pulls him out of the wreckage only to give him the keys to his vehicle, claiming "I owe you a ten-second car" (the price he paid for losing the earlier race was his car). This leads to his
aiding and abetting
Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally al ...
charge, resulting in his removal from the LAPD.
''The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious''
Brian leaves Los Angeles before the
LAPD
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
gets chance to arrest him for letting Dominic escape. While the FBI launch a national manhunt for him, Brian travels across
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, and
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, winning every
street race he participates in, with his red
Dodge Stealth. However, he is forced to ditch his car at a motel in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
when police officers are notified of his presence. When they collect the car, he manages to hitch a ride from an unknown woman (
Minka Kelly), despite her knowing who he really is. She drops him at a used car lot, with him realizing she knows that he is a wanted man. There, he buys a green
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. Later, collecting money from street races, he modifies the car with new rims and repaints it silver before traveling eastbound and winning more races on the way. Upon reaching
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, Brian heads south toward
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
.
''2 Fast 2 Furious''
Brian, now living in Miami, Florida competes part time as a street racer for his friend Tej Parker (
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
). While racing, he is caught by the local authorities and is facing jail time for his minor charges such as destruction of property (while infiltrating Toretto in the first film) and aiding and abetting Dominic Toretto. However,
US Customs Agent Markham (
James Remar
William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 45-year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (198 ...
) later gives him an offer to work undercover to infiltrate a local drug kingpin named Carter Verone (
Cole Hauser
Cole Kenneth Hauser (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for film roles in ''Higher Learning'', '' School Ties'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Good Will Hunting'', '' Pitch Black'', ''Tigerland'', '' Hart's War'', ''Tears of the ...
) in exchange for a clean record. Seeing that they could not pin any charges on Verone until evidence of his payoff is in transit, O'Conner was in charge of being placed as a driver while undercover for Verone. Brian is given a partner named Dunn, who he quizzes regarding his knowledge of cars, and Dunn fails. Brian then proceeded to request his own driver, saying if he doesn't get the driver he wants, he won't participate in the operation and take his chances in Chino.
When Markham agrees to Brian's terms, Brian and his old
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
boss, Agent Bilkins (
Thom Barry) seek out his childhood friend
Roman Pearce (
Tyrese Gibson
Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American R&B singer and actor from Los Angeles, California. He signed with RCA Records in 1998, and released his debut single " Nobody Else" in August of that year. It peaked within the top ...
) who is now a
Demolition Derby
Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...
driver. Not being on good terms, they scuffle on the ground much like from their childhood days since Pearce is unhappy with Brian being a police officer and was arrested two months after Brian got out of Police Academy for possessing eight stolen cars, which Pearce blames Brian for, despite his knowing nothing about it. He is able to convince Pearce to accept the deal. After the agreement is settled, Bilkins and Markham then introduce Brian and Roman to Monica Fuentes (
Eva Mendes
Eva de la Caridad Méndez (, ; born March 5, 1974), known professionally as Eva Mendes, is a retired American actress. Her acting career began in the late 1990s with a series of roles in films such as '' Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror ...
), an undercover US Customs agent working with Carter. Brian and Roman are then given their cars. Brian drives a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, and Roman drives a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.
While infiltrating Carter Verone, both men are successful in getting into the organization, aided by Monica Fuentes. Monica, who has fallen in love with Brian, warns him that Verone intends to kill them at the end of their mission. Now the stakes are that if they fail, they go to jail or if they succeed, they get executed. With those choices, both men hatch a scheme to avoid jail time and being shot dead. Pearce reconciles with Brian, accepting that his arrest was not his fault. With help from Tej, they orchestrate a "scramble"—after driving into a garage they later have hundreds of race cars coming out, having switched cars with Tej and Suki (
Devon Aoki) while in the garage.
The cars they later move out in are outfitted with ejection seats to rid themselves of unwanted guests. Brian is forced to meet up with Verone, but after beating up Carter's henchman (with help from Pearce) he proceeds to do a classic car jump onto Verone's boat. Afterward they arrest Verone and are off the hook. He and Monica exchange a meaningful glance, and the end scene is shown between O'Conner and Pearce walking away with their pockets full of Verone's drug money planning to open up a high-performance garage.
''Fast & Furious''
Paul Walker reprises his role as Brian O'Conner in the fourth installment of the film series. This film takes place after the events of ''
The Fast and the Furious'' and ''
2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to '' The Fast and the Furious'' (2001) and ...
'', much before the events of ''
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift''.
Brian O'Conner, now a fully reinstated FBI Agent, is given the task of bringing down Arturo Braga, a known drug trafficker in Los Angeles and his connections to the street racing world, although his real identity is unknown to the public. Brian is also not surprised to see Dominic Toretto doing a
Suge Knight
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former National Football League, NFL player, and convicted felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central f ...
style balcony interrogation of possible lead David Park. Brian knows that it is because of
Letty's recent murder that Dominic has returned to get answers. Also, it was Brian who was contacted by Letty with her proposal to infiltrate Braga's organization in exchange for Dom's safe return to Los Angeles.
Despite being a full agent again, he is still seen doing his trademark bending the rules and occasionally breaking them to solve the case. Similar to the first film, Brian is under pressure by his superiors to bring in Dom, who is still a fugitive in the film.
Brian and Dom both infiltrate Braga's crew, despite neither being aware of who Braga really is. Following the hijacking a Hummer H1 with $60 million worth of heroin in it, Brian sets up a sting operation to meet Braga to exchange some of the heroin for $6 million in cash, but not before making a deal with his superiors to have Dom pardoned for his past crimes if the operation is successful. After having the FBI do a fingerprint database search for Braga, whose real identity turns out to be his "second-in-command" Ramon Campos, fellow FBI agent Michael Stasiak, envious of and at odds with O'Conner, sends in a SWAT team to ruin the bust, forcing Braga to go back into hiding. As a result of this, Brian is taken off active duty.
Later, as O'Conner and Dominic go into Mexico to search for Braga, they are given a tip off by one of Braga's people, in this case, his liaison
Gisele Yashar (
Gal Gadot), who has taken an attraction to Dom. Brian and Dom successfully apprehend Braga at a church in Mexico, and helps Dom kill Fenix Calderon (
Laz Alonso
Lazaro Alonso (born March 25, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film ''Avatar'' and Fenix Calderon in the film ''Fast & Furious''. Alonso has had roles in other films such as '' Jarhead ...
), who is responsible for Letty's death, by holding his ankles while Dominic impales him with a henchman's '73
Chevy Camaro F-Bomb. Despite requesting clemency for Dom, he is given a sentence of 25 years to life without the possibility of early parole. This leads Brian to resign from the FBI, and he joins Mia and two of Dom's Latino accomplices from the beginning of the film (Leo and Santos, played by
Don Omar
William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1979), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is also known as the " King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The ...
and
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio a ...
respectively) in freeing Dom from his prison bus by driving towards the bus in similar style to Dominic's heists, which later leads to Dominic's appearance in Tokyo, Japan during the end film events of ''
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift''.
There is no mention of the fate regarding his plans for opening an automotive shop with childhood friend Roman Pearce in Miami. It is also revealed in this film why he let Dominic go in the first film—that he respected Dominic more than he did himself, and perhaps due to the fact that his raid on Tran's estate indirectly caused Jesse's death.
During the course of the film, Brian also rekindles his old romance with
Mia Toretto
''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is an American action film series centered on street racing, Heist films, heists, Spy films, spies, and family.
The following is a list of characters from the film franchise.
Ca ...
, Dominic's younger sister. After seeing her in an FBI interrogation room, he releases her, and the two go out for coffee. During the conversation they share, she reveals her anger at his "betrayal" of their group at the end of the first film, questions why he let Dom go (to which Brian claims he doesn't know) and tells him how hurt she was when he left her suddenly, with no explanation. While Brian initially puts professional distance between himself and Mia, he finally admits to her that leaving her was the hardest thing he ever did, and later, when Mia breaks down, Brian comforts her, resulting in a passionate reunion between the two.
''Fast Five''
O'Conner and
Toretto get caught in a crossfire with corrupt businessman and ruthless drug lord Hernan Reyes's in Rio de Janeiro and plot to steal all of Reyes' money to buy their freedom. It is revealed in ''Fast Five'' that O'Conner's father was not there for him and O'Conner does not know anything about him, unlike the close bond that Toretto's father had with both his children. He is often worried that he will behave in the manner that his father did, but Toretto reassured him that he won't because he will keep an eye on him if he does. O'Conner had been in juvenile detention with Roman before he became a cop. O'Conner has also rekindled his relationship with Mia, and she becomes pregnant with his child.
''Fast & Furious 6''
O'Conner, Toretto, and Mia live peacefully in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
in Spain, where Mia gives birth to their son. O'Conner joins Toretto's team in complying with the request of Agent Hobbs to take down rival gang leader Owen Shaw. When the team realizes that Braga worked for Shaw, O'Conner decides to enter the United States to interrogate him about Shaw. After successfully questioning Braga and returning to London, O'Conner starts to feel guilty for letting Letty go undercover, which led to her amnesia and subsequent work for Shaw. The group captures Shaw and convinces Letty to side with them. O'Conner apologizes to Letty, who says that she might not remember him, but if she did work for him, she would have done of her own free will. Shaw reveals that he had captured Mia, leading to a high-speed chase after Shaw's airplane, where Mia is rescued and Shaw is crippled and put into a coma. Hobbs then grants the group's amnesty, and the entire crew move back to America, where Mia, Toretto and O'Conner have decided to reside in the old Toretto home.
''Furious 7''
Brian and the rest of the crew return to the U.S. and live normal lives again. Brian begins to accustom himself to life as a father but misses the old life he once enjoyed.
Meanwhile, Dom learns from his sister, Mia, that she is pregnant again, but fears to tell Brian because of his longing for ''missing the bullets''. However, their house is destroyed by Deckard Shaw, brother to Owen Shaw, who has come out of hiding for vengeance, which forces Brian, Roman, Tej, Letty, and Dom to go after him. Before leaving, Brian makes a promise to Mia that after Shaw is dealt with, he will dedicate himself to his family.
To rescue Ramsey, a hacker who has a device known as 'God's Eye' that can locate anyone on Earth, the team airdrops their cars over the Caucasus Mountains and ambush Jakande's convoy and rescue Ramsey, finding out that she is a young woman. They then head to Abu Dhabi, where a billionaire has acquired the flash drive containing God's Eye. The team breaks into his penthouse and steals the flash drive. On both occasions, the team is pursued by Shaw, who engages in combat with Dom, with the team barely managing to escape.
With God's Eye, the team manages to track down Shaw, who is waiting at a remote factory. Dom, Brian, and Mr. Nobody, along with a covert ops unit, attempt to capture Shaw but are ambushed by Jakande and Jakande's militants, who have allied with Deckard. After the ambush, Nobody's men are killed, and Nobody is injured, though he manages to escape with Toretto and Brian, while Jakande obtains God's Eye.
Nobody warns Brian and Dom that Jakande will use God's Eye to hunt down Ramsey, who is the only one who can destroy it. They drive off, leaving Nobody behind to be evacuated by one of his 'stand-by' helicopters. Left with no other choice, the team returns to Los Angeles to fight Shaw, Jakande, and his men on their home turf. Dom plans to confront Shaw alone while Brian and the rest of the crew prepare to deal with Jakande. Just as they are preparing, Brian calls Mia and professes his love, fearing he may not survive, and learns that she is pregnant with a baby girl, motivating him to come back alive.
While Jakande pursues Brian and the rest of the crew with a stealth attack helicopter and a UAV, using God's Eye to track down Ramsey, they barely survive and manage to shut down God's Eye with Brian's help to establish a connection for Ramsey to hack it. In the aftermath, Hobbs kills Jakande by shooting the bag of grenades that Dom managed to throw inside the helicopter while also taking out the UAV. Deckard is defeated by Dom and imprisoned.
Finally at peace, the team celebrates at the beach. While Brian and Mia play with their son Jack, Dom, Letty, Ramsey, Roman, and Tej observe, appreciating their happiness and acknowledging that Brian is better off retired with his family. Dom silently leaves, not wanting to disturb the happy moment, and drives off. Brian notices and manages to catch up to him, asking Dom, "You thought you could leave without saying goodbye?" As he pulls up beside Dom's car in his white Toyota Supra, they look at each other and smile, then bid each other farewell. Brian turns off the main road, and Dom continues on ahead.
''The Fate of the Furious''
Brian does not make a physical appearance in ''The Fate of the Furious'', but he, alongside Mia, is seen in a photo in Dom's car. He is also mentioned by Roman and Letty as when Dom betrays the team, Roman suggests that Brian would know why Dom betrayed them, but Letty reminded him that they all agreed to keep Brian and Mia retired from the team due to them wanting a normal life and for the safety of their children. Dom later names his son after Brian.
''F9''
Brian does not physically appear in ''F9''. However, Mia returns to the team when she learns that their current target is Jakob, the third Toretto sibling, who was separated from the family years ago, and informs Dom that Brian is looking after the children (including Dom's own son). The film concludes with Brian arriving at Dom's house in his blue Nissan Skyline to join the rest of the team in a post-mission barbecue, although he is not featured directly. Despite being an unseen background character in the film itself, Brian does make an appearance via archival footage in the film's trailer (alongside his son Jack).
''Fast X''
While not appearing in the current-day events of the film, Brian and Dom's previous vault heist is seen in the opening of the film via archival footage, introducing the film's villain, Dante, the son of Hernan Reyes.
Character, traits and abilities
Brian's charismatic, level-headed personality often contrasts with Toretto's aggressive behavior. Despite his composure, Brian is a secret adrenaline junkie; once, he confides in Dom (when describing the challenges of fatherhood) that he misses the dangerous lifestyle. He is also shown to be brave, particularly when protecting friends or loved ones by making seemingly lethal, impulsive or courageous decisions.
Brian was first unknown with the car tuning community, but after with meeting Toretto, he became more positive, active in the racing scene, becoming a skilled mechanic.
Brian is very interested in tuners, especially Nissan Skyline models. He owned two
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34's (one in the second movie and one in the fourth),
Nissan C10 Skyline and finally a
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R (''Gran Turismo–Racing''; model code: R35; Japanese: 日産・GT-R; ''Nissan GT-R'') is a series of cars built by Japanese marque Nissan from 2007 to 2025. It has a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 seating layout and is considered b ...
.
Apart from Skylines, Brian has owned: a tuned Mitsubishi Eclipse in the first film (but it's hinted this was paid for by the LAPD-FBI task force he had gone undercover for), a Lancer Evo, a Subaru (twice) and a Supra (twice).
Brian is shown to be an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. While Dom utilizes fighting techniques based on his impressive strength Brian utilizes his training from his time in law enforcement possessing martial arts abilities and extensive hand-to-hand combat skills.
Cars

The following cars are driven by Brian O'Conner throughout the series:
* 1995
Mitsubishi Eclipse
The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sport compact car manufactured and marketed by Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi over four generations for model years 1989-2011. A convertible body style was added during the 1996 model year.
The first two generations ...
– Shot at by Johnny Tran and later destroyed after ruptured nitrous tanks explode; equipped with a 420A motor with an upgrade to a T3 turbo and front mount intercooler, standalone fuel management and nitrous. This was the car Brian used to race Dom in the beginning of the first film.
* 1995
Toyota Supra
is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured and developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is a definition from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond".
The initial four generations ...
– Brian handed over the keys to Dominic after he crashed his Dodge Charger R/T, claiming he owed him a ten second car. In the movie, Jesse referred to spending $10,000-$15,000 on this car when in reality there was over $150,000 invested in the Supra.
* 1999
Ford F-150 Lightning – Seen bumping the curb outside of Harry's performance shop "The Racer's Edge", and when Brian is pulled over and arrested by Sergeant Tanner.
* 1995
Dodge Stealth – Seen in ''
The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious
''The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious'' (also known simply as ''Turbo Charged Prelude'') is a 2003 American short film directed by Philip G. Atwell and written by Keith Dinielli. It is the first short film in the ''Fast & Furious'' fr ...
''; now a fugitive, he races with it until it's impounded by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
then later replaces it with a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 on his way to Miami.
* 2002
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII – Provided for Brian, in ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' for his undercover mission of taking down drug lord Carter Verone in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. It is fitted with a tracking device. He later switches cars in an elaborate scramble sequence, continuing his mission undetected.
Note: The Evo VII had the taillights from the
Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally and it was both the 2002 Evo VII and 2002 Lancer OZ Rally.
* 1969
Yenko Camaro – Won from fellow racer Korpi, this is the car Brian switches into after the scramble sequence and drives for the rest of the film. It is outfitted with an ejector seat, which somehow fails, and is forced to drive with Verone's henchman to the checkpoint. Brian later uses the Camaro to drive off the shore onto Verone's boat to rescue Monica after she is taken captive.
*
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 – Driven by Brian in ''
2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to '' The Fast and the Furious'' (2001) and ...
'' and ''
Fast & Furious
''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...
''. In the second film, it is colored silver from House of Kolors and blue stripes. In the fourth film, Brian is given a second Skyline and drives this car in the race against Dominic, which he very narrowly loses after Dom cheats near the end of the race. Later, when he and Dom confront Fenix Rise about Letty's death, Dom (having anticipated betrayal) blows up all the racers' cars (including Brian's) by igniting the nitrous tanks equipped in his own car. The car returns in the ending of ''
F9'', with the same color as in the fourth film.
* 2006
Hummer H1
The Hummer H1 is a full-size four-wheel-drive utility vehicle based on the M998 Humvee, which was developed by AM General when it was a subsidiary of American Motors Corporation (AMC). Originally designed strictly for military use, the off-r ...
– Briefly driven by Brian and Dom after his own car is blown up to escape from Rise; it contains the heroin being transported to Braga. He later hides it in the LAPD impound lot in plain sight.
* 2009
Subaru Impreza WRX STI – "Given" to Brian by Dom after he blows up his Skyline, claiming the line from the first film that Dom now owes him a "ten second car". He drives this car for the rest of the film, using it to apprehend Braga in a cathedral in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and racing against Rise with it. The other one is used in the seventh film to help and prevent Ramsay from Bus in Azerbaijan.
* 1970
Dodge Charger R/T –
Dominic Toretto
Dominic "Dom" Toretto is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Vin Diesel and first appeared on film with the other fellow protagonist Brian O'Conner in '' The Fast and the ...
's car, but driven by Brian at the end of ''
Fast & Furious
''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...
'' when he, Mia, Santos and Leo intercept Dom's prison bus.
* 2009
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R (''Gran Turismo–Racing''; model code: R35; Japanese: 日産・GT-R; ''Nissan GT-R'') is a series of cars built by Japanese marque Nissan from 2007 to 2025. It has a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 seating layout and is considered b ...
– Like in the ending
Fast Five
''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'') is a 2011 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan (filmmaker), Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious (2009 film), Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fif ...
, Brian got the car the result of a robbery in Rio De Janeiro, just like Dom who bought a black
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full- ...
. In 2 films later he switched into a blue color with some modifications.
* 2012
Chrysler Town & Country (minivan) – This is Brian's first time driving a Minivan in a film, used to take their children to school. The same car appears in the next scene, where Brian's son, Jack, was protected by him via his sliding door when the Toretto family's house exploded.
* 2013
McLaren MP4-12C – for a short scene in his arrival in Abu Dhabi, Brian drives the blue one.
* Another
Toyota Supra
is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured and developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is a definition from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond".
The initial four generations ...
(1998 Facelift model) – in the ending of ''
Furious 7
''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and the seventh i ...
'', Brian drives a white one to catch up to and say good bye to Dom.
Reception
The role won Walker the
MTV Movie Award in 2002 and (posthumously) 2014, for Best On-Screen Team, both of which he shared with
Vin Diesel
Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...
.
Further recognition came in the 2015
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
, again posthumously. Walker's portrayal has made the actor becoming strongly identified with the character.
His relationship with
Dominic Toretto
Dominic "Dom" Toretto is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Vin Diesel and first appeared on film with the other fellow protagonist Brian O'Conner in '' The Fast and the ...
has been described as a
bromance
A bromance is a very close and non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished from normal friendship by ...
.
Notes
References
External links
Brian O'Connerat the
Internet Movie Database
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconner, Brian
Fictional Los Angeles Police Department detectives
Fictional Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel
Fictional characters from California
Film characters introduced in 2001
Fictional Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners
Fictional Jeet Kune Do practitioners
Fictional mechanics
Fictional outlaws
Fictional racing drivers
Action film characters
Thriller film characters
Fast & Furious characters