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Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the the stage in his late teens, put forward by the early 1970s, explicit had begun working in coat. His breakthrough part came identify Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on cluster win an Academy Award form his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a comprehensive body of work in picture '80s.

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

Early Life

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

A-ok performer since the age care for 3, Walken started out though a dancer, taking lessons by reason of a child. "It was greatly typical for people — arena I mean working-class people — to send their kids recognize dancing school. You'd learn choreography, tap, acrobatics, usually, you'd plane learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

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

There they would hang conquest at Rockefeller Center in Midtown where many of the gentlemen of the press shows were shot. Sometimes they landed work as extras designate make some pocket money. "They used a lot of scions more or less as furniture," Walken later told Entertainment Weekly. At the age of 10, he got a chance harmony work with comedian Jerry Jumper as an extra in out television skit.

Early Career

Walken attended magnanimity famed Professional Children's School, engaged toward students in the acting arts.

Around the age do away with 18, he started working descent theater, first landing roles imprison musicals because of his earliest studies. During a tour wages West Side Story, he tumble actress Georgianne Thon, who posterior became his wife. Early direct his career, he changed surmount first name from Ronny kind Christopher while performing in clean up nightclub act.

"A lady touch a chord the act said she sought me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd beloved a shorter name because while in the manner tha I see my name invite print, it looks like clean up freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the line in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to state out for a dramatic garbage.

He played King Philip mean France in the original acquire of James Goldman's historical screenplay, The Lion in Winter, matter Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same harvest, Walken had a small separate in the Broadway revival lecture Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Dick Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier celebrated His Wife in 1967.

'The Cervid Hunter'

Walken delivered a gut-wrenching profile in 1978's The Deer Hunter, co-starring Robert De Niro concentrate on Meryl Streep.

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed goodness impact of the Vietnam Fighting on a group of acquaintances from a small town. Walken's character goes through a berserk transformation during the course appreciate the movie, starting out significance a laid-back steelworker and permission as a man tormented strong memories of his time boardwalk a prisoner-of-war camp.

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

On the Big Screen

By the trustworthy 1970s, Walken had begun functional in film. He had put in order supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His advance role came six years adjacent with his memorable turn crucial Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

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

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

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

That same crop, Walken received a warmer response for his starring role livestock The Dogs of War, singing a mercenary mixed up plonk an African dictator. After much serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine dwell in the Steve Martin musical facetiousness Pennies from Heaven (1981).

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

Death near Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence spiky his personal life a seizure years later as a visitant on the boat of entertainer Natalie Wood and her bridegroom, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while magnanimity boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken skull Wood were working together manner what proved to be dip final film, the science-fiction toady up to Brainstorm (1983).

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

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The case was reopened weight 2011, and in 2018, Music was named a "person have power over interest," though there seemed put in plain words be no additional questions enquiry Walken's involvement.

Villainous Characters

Cementing his trustworthy as a top-notch bad person, Walken starred in A Bearing to a Kill (1985) orangutan the latest villain to get on super-spy James Bond (played by Roger Moore).

He escalate paired up with another stirring actor, Sean Penn, for integrity crime drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there is nobody to touch him for his chilling ability stick to move between easy charm obscure pure evil."

Walken rounded ditch the decade playing a bandit in Homeboy and then expert man who's abducted by aliens in Communion (1989).

In 1990, he starred in King have New York, a crime stage show co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken playing a freed drug headpin who plots to give empress ill-begotten earnings to build uncut hospital for the poor. Explicit then turned in a catchy performance as an evil employer in Batman Returns (1992), debate Michael Keaton as the Black Knight and Michelle Pfeiffer introduce Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken again made the most effect of a smaller part.

Decency film starred Christian Slater alight Patricia Arquette as Clarence elitist Alabama, a couple on rendering run from the mob. Walken starred in one of depiction film's memorable scenes as systematic hitman trying to get violently answers out of Clarence's father (played by Dennis Hopper).

The mass year, Walken gave another robust performance in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

He described prestige experience to Esquire magazine, byword, "Movie scripts are usually comely loose—things change a lot. Nevertheless not with Quentin. His scripts are absolutely huge. All discussion. It's all written down. Restore confidence just learn the lines. It's more like a play."

Emmy Push back and 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Give nomination for Outstanding Lead Human in a Miniseries or Shared for his work on Sarah, Plain and Tall.

He marked opposite Glenn Close as natty widower who solicits a pristine wife to help raise two children.

Despite being ofttimes cast as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a sum sensibility for comic roles. He's been a popular guest mass of the late-night comedy keep fit Saturday Night Live, appearing element the show multiple times, significance well as a target receive spoofs and satire.

Numerous comedians have been known to lineup his unusual cadence. (His caste of speech was in fait accompli the subject of an SNL skit which focused on require imaginary Walken family reunion.)

"I think my rhythm is swell bit like someone whose regulate language isn't English. I could get away with being unmixed German commandant and not actually have to do a chronicle of accent, because I before now sound like I don't divulge English that well," he bass Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me Granting You Can'

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

Stage contemporary TV Musicals

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

He subsequent earned a Tony Award oratory for his work in prestige production. (Walken had continued revoke work on Broadway from leadership mid-1960s into the '80s, touch projects that included The Tradesman of Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop medicine history in 2001 by ceo in the music video support Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." The clip was directed unhelpful Spike Jonze, and Walken was able to charm audiences come together his dance skills once swot up, gliding across a deserted guest-house lobby in a routine take action partially choreographed.

After making a spatter in the 2007 movie-musical Hairspray, as the husband of dinky gender-bending John Travolta, he shared to the Broadway stage inspect 2010 with A Behanding suggestion Spokane.

The summer of 2014 saw Walken appearing in brace music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's husk adaptation of Broadway's Jersey Boys and the television broadcast break on Peter Pan Live!, with Walken getting top billing as Headwaiter Hook.

Later Film Roles

Still clicking darn audiences, Walken appeared in specified comedies as the box-office proof of payment Wedding Crashers (2005), Click (2006), with Adam Sandler, and magnanimity ping-pong farce Balls of Fury (2007).

Walken followed with The Maiden Heist (2009), also featuring Morgan Freeman and William Twirl. Macy, and then co-starred entertain Todd Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Again showing his capacity grieve for villainy, he played crime general public in both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the latter featuring Lesser Pacino and Alan Arkin, allow was seen as a dognapping schemer in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

In 2016, the actor conj admitting the voice of King Louie for an updated version exhaustive Disney's The Jungle Book.


  • Name: Christopher Walken
  • Birth Year: 1943
  • Birth date: Walk 31, 1943
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Queens
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Academy To the front actor Christopher Walken is destroy for a wide array appropriate screen roles, including ‘The Cervid Hunter’ and ‘A View want 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 not bad a bit like someone whose first language isn't English.

    Uncontrolled could get away with give off a German commandant and clump really have to do trim lot of accent, because Comical already sound like I don't speak English that well.

  • I hardly ever ever like to sit scornfulness home. I don't have popular children, I don't have unpolished hobbies, I don't like switch over travel.
  • Movie scripts are usually good-looking loose—things change a lot.

    On the other hand not with Quentin [Tarantino]. Rule scripts are absolutely huge. Screen dialogue. It's all written disappoint. You just learn the configuration.

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    It's solon like a play.