Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walkenis an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows, including Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Dogs of War, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, Batman Returns, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Sleepy Hollow, Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray, Seven Psychopaths, and the first three Prophecy films, as well as music videos by many popular recording artists. Walken has received a number of awards and nominations during his career, including winning...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth31 March 1943
CityAstoria, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I have always refused to do something that has offended me. I have been offered potential roles that are totally vulgar.
In my personal life I'm very conservative. I've been married to the same person for nearly 50 years, I'm scrupulous about paying bills, avoiding debt. I'm very careful. But as an actor I'm pretty reckless. I've done a lot of things that, when I see myself on screen, I have to shut my eyes. And I've made a whole bunch of movies that nobody sees, including me.
People come up to me all the time in New York. Not for autographs, but to talk about movies, often in a very scientific way.
There probably aren't a lot of actors my age who tap dance.
To be honest, I was never very ambitious. And I still am not.
And I think that when I play these villains, maybe what is different is that the audience sees me play these and they know that that's Chris and he's having fun and he knows that and he knows that and you know that and everybody knows that.
Onstage I have a natural chutzpa that audiences like. I'm out there.
For me, in movies, it's always a mixed bag. I've never made a movie where I thought, "You were really good in that movie; you were good all the time." No. It's always, "You didn't get it, you didn't do it in that scene, but the other scene is pretty good." So I just hope that in balance there's more good scenes than not.
Also, I think there are huge reactions sometimes, which are also mysterious.
I don't much like being directed. I enjoy being allowed to play.
I don't play lovers. I wish I did. At least once I'd like to have a crack at one of those guys. A heartbreaker. Some people are born to it. I'm not.
They have a kind of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby thing going on.
There's an impression that actors make a lot of choices. I just take what's there.
I grew up listening to people speaking broken English. I probably picked that up. And I probably speak English almost as a second language.