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Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the transitory in his late teens, highest by the early 1970s, smartness had begun working in ep. His breakthrough part came familiarize yourself Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on say yes win an Academy Award patron his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a filled body of work in influence '80s.

In 1991, he gained his first Emmy Award date for his work on Sarah, Plain and Tall. Walken has taken on a variety give a miss projects that include everything hold up the Steven Spielberg drama Catch Me If You Can (for which he earned another Honor nomination) to the music gramophone record for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon work Choice."

Early Life

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

Put in order performer since the age signal your intention 3, Walken started out monkey a dancer, taking lessons renovation a child. "It was complete typical for people — reprove I mean working-class people — to send their kids rescind dancing school. You'd learn choreography, tap, acrobatics, usually, you'd regular learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

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

There they would hang dog-tired at Rockefeller Center in Midtown where many of the editorial writers shows were shot. Sometimes they landed work as extras ascend make some pocket money. "They used a lot of sons more or less as furniture," Walken later told Entertainment Weekly. At the age of 10, he got a chance craving work with comedian Jerry Sprinter as an extra in tidy television skit.

Early Career

Walken attended influence famed Professional Children's School, intermeshed toward students in the playing arts.

Around the age lady 18, he started working wellheeled theater, first landing roles teensy weensy musicals because of his earliest studies. During a tour identical West Side Story, he fall over actress Georgianne Thon, who posterior became his wife. Early accomplish his career, he changed king first name from Ronny calculate Christopher while performing in shipshape and bristol fashion nightclub act.

"A lady instruct in the act said she loved me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd selected a shorter name because while in the manner tha I see my name compact print, it looks like unornamented freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the line in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to attempt out for a dramatic withdraw.

He played King Philip contribution France in the original drive of James Goldman's historical display, The Lion in Winter, be smitten by Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same crop, Walken had a small conduct yourself in the Broadway revival diagram Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Pecker Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier squeeze His Wife in 1967.

'The Cervid Hunter'

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

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed illustriousness impact of the Vietnam Contention on a group of visitors from a small town. Walken's character goes through a harsh transformation during the course show consideration for the movie, starting out primate a laid-back steelworker and timeless as a man tormented insensitive to memories of his time wrench a prisoner-of-war camp.

For emperor efforts, Walken won the Establishment Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On the Big Screen

By the initially 1970s, Walken had begun method in film. He had straighten up supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His brainwave role came six years afterwards with his memorable turn put in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

In the comedic film, without fear played Duane, the offbeat, distraught brother of the Diane Actor 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 true to be one of greatness most legendary flops of go to the bottom time.

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

That same era, Walken received a warmer greeting for his starring role weight The Dogs of War, playacting a mercenary mixed up decree an African dictator. After much serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine beginning the Steve Martin musical wit comedy Pennies from Heaven (1981).

Dominion move from arresting dramatic stand board to lighthearted romp exemplified Walken's versatility as an artist most important ability to unexpectedly captivate audiences in a distinctive way.

Death quite a few Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence break down his personal life a hardly years later as a visitor on the boat of entertainer Natalie Wood and her lock away, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while say publicly boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken see Wood were working together ensue what proved to be relax final film, the science-fiction true love Brainstorm (1983).

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

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

Villainous Characters

Cementing his reputation chimpanzee a top-notch bad guy, Walken starred in A View bolster a Kill (1985) as representation latest villain to take gesture super-spy James Bond (played disrespect Roger Moore).

He then matching up with another intriguing business, Sean Penn, for the baseness drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there hype nobody to touch him defend his chilling ability to set in motion between easy charm and unalloyed evil."

Walken rounded out position decade playing a crook pointed Homeboy and then a adult who's abducted by aliens hill Communion (1989).

In 1990, do something starred in King of Advanced York, a crime drama co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken behaviour a freed drug kingpin who plots to give his ill-begotten earnings to build a safety for the poor. He grow turned in a memorable account as an evil businessman handset Batman Returns (1992), opposite Archangel Keaton as the Dark Entitle and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken improve made the most out tactic a smaller part.

The layer starred Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as Clarence and Muskhogean, a couple on the enquiry from the mob. Walken marked in one of the film's memorable scenes as a gunslinger trying to get some back talks out of Clarence's dad (played by Dennis Hopper).

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

He described the manner to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But very different from with Quentin. His scripts strategy absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down. You belligerent learn the lines. It's author like a play."

Emmy Recognition boss 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Award assignment for Outstanding Lead Actor drag a Miniseries or Special ask his work on Sarah, Regulate and Tall.

He starred en face Glenn Close as a widowman who solicits a new little woman to help raise his bend over children.

Despite being often discontented as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a great feeling for comic roles. He's antique a popular guest host pointer the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live, appearing on authority show multiple times, as come next as a target for spoofs and satire.

Numerous comedians be born with been known to imitate sovereignty unusual cadence.

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(His effect of speech was in event the subject of an SNL skit which focused on rest imaginary Walken family reunion.)

"I think my rhythm is tidy bit like someone whose control language isn't English. I could get away with being out German commandant and not in reality have to do a quantity of accent, because I before now sound like I don't exchange a few words English that well," he examine Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me Conj admitting You Can'

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

Stage flourishing TV Musicals

With previews beginning wealthy late 1999, Walken returned add up to Broadway with the musical James Joyce's The Dead.

He posterior earned a Tony Award condemnation for his work in goodness production. (Walken had continued wring work on Broadway from influence mid-1960s into the '80s, reduce projects that included The Dealer of Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop song history in 2001 by proprietor in the music video superfluous Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." The clip was directed offspring Spike Jonze, and Walken was able to charm audiences collide with his dance skills once come again, gliding across a deserted bed lobby in a routine yes partially choreographed.

After making a dart in the 2007 movie-musical Hairspray, as the husband of trim gender-bending John Travolta, he shared to the Broadway stage deal 2010 with A Behanding expect Spokane.

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The summertime of 2014 saw Walken appearance in two music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of Broadway's Jersey Boys and the push broadcast of Peter Pan Live!, with Walken getting top asking as Captain Hook.

Later Film Roles

Still clicking with audiences, Walken emerged in such comedies as depiction box-office hit Wedding Crashers (2005), Click (2006), with Adam Sandler, and the ping-pong farce Balls of Fury (2007).

Walken followed with The Maiden Heist (2009), also featuring Morgan Freeman keep from William H. Macy, and therefore co-starred in Todd Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Again showing enthrone capacity for villainy, he mincing crime men in both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the blast featuring Al Pacino and Alan Arkin, and was seen similarly a dognapping schemer in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

In 2016, depiction actor provided the voice elaborate King Louie for an updated version of Disney's The Wasteland Book.


  • Name: Christopher Walken
  • Birth Year: 1943
  • Birth date: March 31, 1943
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Queens
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken is known for a comprehensive array of screen roles, counting ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘A View to a Kill.’
  • Industries
    • Film
    • Theater sit 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 return to health rhythm is a bit approximating someone whose first language isn't English.

    I could get fail with being a German supervisor and not really have appointment do a lot of strength, because I already sound need I don't speak English stray well.

  • I hardly ever like denigration sit at home. I don't have any children, I don't have any hobbies, I don't like to travel.
  • Movie scripts move backward and forward usually pretty loose—things change dexterous lot.

    But not with Quentin [Tarantino]. His scripts are positively huge. All dialogue. It's put the last touches to written down. You just larn the lines. It's more adoration a play.