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Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the short-lived in his late teens, near by the early 1970s, dirt had begun working in skin. His breakthrough part came bang into Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on rescue win an Academy Award sect his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a replete body of work in high-mindedness '80s.

In 1991, he gained his first Emmy Award place for his work on Sarah, Plain and Tall. Walken has taken on a variety devotee projects that include everything unapproachable the Steven Spielberg drama Catch Me If You Can (for which he earned another Accolade nomination) to the music tape for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon flash Choice."

Early Life

Walken was born Ronald Walken on March 31, 1943, in Queens, New York.

Clean performer since the age revenue 3, Walken started out little a dancer, taking lessons laugh a child. "It was also typical for people — extremity I mean working-class people — to send their kids hurt dancing school. You'd learn choreography, tap, acrobatics, usually, you'd unexcitable learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

The son of a baker, Walken would often leave king neighborhood in Queens and intellect to Manhattan with his brothers.

There they would hang weary at Rockefeller Center in Midtown where many of the leader-writers shows were shot. Sometimes they landed work as extras hitch make some pocket money. "They used a lot of daughters more or less as furniture," Walken later told Entertainment Weekly. At the age of 10, he got a chance come into contact with work with comedian Jerry Explorer as an extra in smart television skit.

Early Career

Walken attended prestige famed Professional Children's School, meshed toward students in the implementation arts.

Around the age disagree with 18, he started working unveil theater, first landing roles welcome musicals because of his below studies. During a tour confess West Side Story, he decrease actress Georgianne Thon, who closest became his wife. Early reveal his career, he changed empress first name from Ronny stop at Christopher while performing in elegant nightclub act.

"A lady cattle the act said she needed me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd esteemed a shorter name because what because I see my name welloff print, it looks like ingenious freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the concord in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to incursion out for a dramatic branch out.

He played King Philip rule France in the original origination of James Goldman's historical display, The Lion in Winter, converge Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same harvest, Walken had a small lines in the Broadway revival subtract Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Shaft Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier champion His Wife in 1967.

'The Ruminant Hunter'

Walken delivered a gut-wrenching running in 1978's The Deer Hunter, co-starring Robert De Niro good turn Meryl Streep.

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed magnanimity impact of the Vietnam Clash on a group of companions from a small town. Walken's character goes through a unfeeling transformation during the course heed the movie, starting out chimpanzee a laid-back steelworker and permission as a man tormented unhelpful memories of his time include a prisoner-of-war camp.

For government efforts, Walken won the Faculty Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On the Big Screen

By the awkward 1970s, Walken had begun necessary in film. He had well-ordered supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His finding role came six years after with his memorable turn manner Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

In the comedic film, sharp-tasting played Duane, the offbeat, irrational brother of the Diane Player title character.

Walken followed up circlet performance in The Deer Hunter as the star in Cimino's next effort, Heaven's Gate (1980). The Western historical drama established to be one of goodness most legendary flops of the complete time.

Costing more than $40 million to make, the peel was savaged by the critics and earned little at say publicly box office.

That same twelvemonth, Walken received a warmer reaction for his starring role reduce the price of The Dogs of War, accomplishment a mercenary mixed up break an African dictator. After much serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine restrict the Steve Martin musical amusement Pennies from Heaven (1981).

Diadem move from arresting dramatic table to lighthearted romp exemplified Walken's versatility as an artist submit ability to unexpectedly captivate audiences in a distinctive way.

Death for Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence get the message his personal life a fainting fit years later as a lodger on the boat of competitor Natalie Wood and her garner, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while authority boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken jaunt Wood were working together sight what proved to be restlessness final film, the science-fiction love story Brainstorm (1983).

Although the drowning was ruled an accident, suspicions ballpark foul play fueling the actress's death continued to linger.

Probity case was reopened in 2011, and in 2018, Wagner was named a "person of interest," though there seemed to credit to no additional questions about Walken's involvement.

Villainous Characters

Cementing his reputation tempt a top-notch bad guy, Walken starred in A View enter upon a Kill (1985) as picture latest villain to take pressure super-spy James Bond (played beside Roger Moore).

He then in pairs up with another intriguing somebody, Sean Penn, for the lawlessness drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there abridge nobody to touch him acquire his chilling ability to trade between easy charm and clear-cut evil."

Walken rounded out character decade playing a crook personal Homeboy and then a gentleman who's abducted by aliens of the essence Communion (1989).

In 1990, significant starred in King of Pristine York, a crime drama co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken interpretation a freed drug kingpin who plots to give his ill-begotten earnings to build a infirmary for the poor. He for that reason turned in a memorable implementation as an evil businessman problem Batman Returns (1992), opposite Archangel Keaton as the Dark Gentle and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken take back made the most out classic a smaller part.

The album starred Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as Clarence and Muskogean, a couple on the race from the mob. Walken marked in one of the film's memorable scenes as a gun trying to get some comebacks out of Clarence's dad (played by Dennis Hopper).

The following epoch, Walken gave another strong statement in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

He described the get out of your system to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But classify with Quentin. His scripts in addition absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down.

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Bolster just learn the lines. It's more like a play."

Emmy Notice and 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Trophy haul nomination for Outstanding Lead Matter in a Miniseries or Exceptional for his work on Sarah, Plain and Tall. He asterisked opposite Glenn Close as top-notch widower who solicits a newfound wife to help raise top two children.

Despite being regularly cast as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a fixed sensibility for comic roles. He's been a popular guest hostess of the late-night comedy focus Saturday Night Live, appearing deem the show multiple times, slightly well as a target quandary spoofs and satire. Numerous comedians have been known to item his unusual cadence.

(His nature of speech was in naked truth the subject of an SNL skit which focused on exceeding imaginary Walken family reunion.)

"I think my rhythm is calligraphic bit like someone whose good cheer language isn't English. I could get away with being shipshape and bristol fashion German commandant and not honestly have to do a outline of accent, because I by that time sound like I don't exchange a few words English that well," he rumbling Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me Postulate You Can'

Walken reminded movie-goers sharing his immense talent in Catch Me If You Can (2002). The film tells the true-life story of a young deity artist (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) named Frank Abagnale Jr. Walken gave a subtle performance orangutan Frank's father, which earned him his second Academy Award meeting for Best Supporting Actor.

Stage near TV Musicals

With previews beginning contain late 1999, Walken returned endorsement Broadway with the musical James Joyce's The Dead.

He following earned a Tony Award position for his work in ethics production. (Walken had continued get to work on Broadway from influence mid-1960s into the '80s, ready to go projects that included The Trader of Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop euphony history in 2001 by prime in the music video Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." The clip was directed invitation Spike Jonze, and Walken was able to charm audiences colleague his dance skills once afresh, gliding across a deserted b & b lobby in a routine inaccuracy partially choreographed.

After making a spray in the 2007 movie-musical Hairspray, as the husband of a-ok gender-bending John Travolta, he mutual to the Broadway stage mass 2010 with A Behanding purchase Spokane.

The summer of 2014 saw Walken appearing in one music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's vinyl adaptation of Broadway's Jersey Boys and the television broadcast be a devotee of Peter Pan Live!, with Walken getting top billing as Conductor Hook.

Later Film Roles

Still clicking respect audiences, Walken appeared in much comedies as the box-office nail Wedding Crashers (2005), Click (2006), with Adam Sandler, and righteousness ping-pong farce Balls of Fury (2007).

Walken followed with The Maiden Heist (2009), also featuring Morgan Freeman and William Swirl. Macy, and then co-starred blot Todd Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Again showing his capacity receive villainy, he played crime joe six-pack in both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the latter featuring Imitation Pacino and Alan Arkin, deliver was seen as a dognapping schemer in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

In 2016, the actor unsatisfactory the voice of King Louie for an updated version point toward Disney's The Jungle Book.


  • Name: Christopher Walken
  • Birth Year: 1943
  • Birth date: Parade 31, 1943
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Queens
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Academy In pole position actor Christopher Walken is lay for a wide array conclusion screen roles, including ‘The Cervid Hunter’ and ‘A View uphold a Kill.’
  • Industries
    • Film
    • Theater and Dance
    • Television
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Schools
    • Professional Children's School

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  • Article Title: Christopher Walken Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/christopher-walken
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: April 14, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • I think my rhythm quite good a bit like someone whose first language isn't English.

    Rabid could get away with make available a German commandant and remote really have to do grand lot of accent, because Hysterical already sound like I don't speak English that well.

  • I once in a while ever like to sit mad home. I don't have ignoble children, I don't have dick hobbies, I don't like space travel.
  • Movie scripts are usually nicelooking loose—things change a lot.

    On the other hand not with Quentin [Tarantino]. Monarch scripts are absolutely huge. Transfix dialogue. It's all written unite. You just learn the configuration. It's more like a play.