Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Ronald Walken (born March 31, 1943), known
professionally as Christopher Walken, is an United
States|American film, television, and theatre
actor best known for playing menacing or
psychologically damaged characters.  He was born
in Queens, New York and has been married to
casting director Georgianne Walken since 1969.

Walken initially trained as a dancer in musical
theatre before moving on to more serious roles in
theatre and then film. A select number of his
movies include dance moves that he has worked in,
reflecting this early background. 

He has been in nearly one hundred movies and
television shows since 1953, including The Dead
Zone (1983), Brainstorm (1983 movie)|Brainstorm
(1983), A View to a Kill (1985), Batman Returns
(1992) True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994),
and Catch Me If You Can (2002). He was George
Lucas' second choice for Han Solo after Harrison
Ford.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0
,4120,1286587,00.html
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/walken.html He
won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in
The Deer Hunter (1978) where he played a disturbed
Vietnam war|Vietnam vet alongside Robert De Niro.
He was nominated again in 2002 for Catch Me if You
Can. 

He also has a considerable body of work in theatre
with over 100 plays to his credit. He won the
Clarence Derwent award for his performance in The
Lion in Winter in 1966 and an Obie for his 1975
perfomance in Kid Champion. He has perfomed the
main role in a number of Shakespeare plays -
notably Hamlet, Macbeth,  Romeo and Juliet and
Coriolanus.

He tried his hand at writing and film
director|directing with the short five minute film
Popcorn Shrimp in 2001.

He is also a frequent guest on Saturday Night Live
where he has a recurring character and sketch
called "The Continental (TV skit)|The
Continental".  Another skit for which Walken has
become famous was a spoof recording session for
Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." 
Playing Bruce Dickinson, a music producer, he
repeatedly stopped the recording to request "More
cowbell!" This sketch has become a huge cult hit.

He has also starred in two music videos.  His
first video role was as Madonna
(entertainer)|Madonna's guardian angel in her 1993
"Bad Girl" video, and the second appearance was in
Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice video in 2001.

== Notable performances ==
Listed in chronological order. More general
information about each of these films can be found
on the individual pages for the films

*Annie Hall (1977)

This Oscar winning film directed by Woody Allen is
often cited by Walken and others as the first film
that brought the actor and his unusual qualities
to the attention of the mainstream viewing public.
In a lightning appearance, he plays the strange
and suicidally fixated brother of Annie Hall
(Diane Keaton) providing the opportunity for a
couple of fine comic reactions from Woody Allen.

*The Deer Hunter (1978)

Walken won an Oscar for best supporting actor with
his performance in this controversial film. He
plays Nick Chevotarevich, a young Pennsylvania
steelworker with a poetic bent who is emotionally
and spiritually destroyed by the experience of war
in Vietnam. Walken's perfomance is notable for his
transformation from a sensitive,  gentle character
to a zoned out automaton, high on heroin and
gambling with his life at Russian roulette.

*The Dead Zone (1983)

Walken plays schoolteacher Johnny Smith, who after
lying in a coma for five years awakes to find he
has psychic powers. The role is currently being
reprised by Anthony Michael Hall in a TV series of
the same name. Walken later spoofed his role in a
sketch in Saturday Night Live in a sketch titled
"Trivial Psychic". Walken's otherworldly looks and
his ability to play vulnerable damaged characters
are put to good effect here.

*At Close Range (1986)

Walken stars as Brad Whitewood, a psychotic rural
Pennsylvania family crime boss, who tries to bring
his two estranged sons, played by real-life
brothers Sean Penn and Chris Penn, into his
criminal world. Based on a true story about the
Bruce Johnston crime family which operated in
eastern Pennsylvania during the late 1970s.

*The Comfort of Strangers (1990)

This art house film directed by Paul Schrader, who
scripted Taxi Driver, has the notable distinction
of providing a role for Walken that disturbed even
him. http://salmonlust.com/cw/cw-lunch92.htm He
plays a decadent Italian aristocrat, Robert, who
lives with his wife (Helen Mirren) in Venice.
Robert has extreme sexual tastes and murderous
tendencies. Walken, sporting Armani suits,
provides an understated performance that combines
charm, evil and sudden and shocking violence.

*King of New York (1990)

This film by noted independent New York film maker
Abel Ferrara has attracted both a cult following
and the attention of serious film theorists (for
example Nicole Brenez
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/21/sd_ac
tor_edit.html). Walken stars as mysterious but
ruthless New York City drug dealer Frank White,
recently released from prison and set on
reclaiming his criminal territory by any means
necessary.  White also has moral pretentions
acting as a kind of a Robin Hood figure. In this
film Walken has the opportunity and screen time to
demonstrate his range and his experimental
abilities as an actor.

*Batman Returns (1992)

In Walken's first collaboration with Tim Burton
(the second was 1999's Sleepy Hollow
(movie)|Sleepy Hollow) he played Max Schreck, an
evil millionaire who allies with the Penguin to
kill Batman. He also attempts to kill his
long-suffering secretary, Selina Kyle, when she
discovers his plans. She survives, and becomes
Catwoman. For this role, Walken applied his
trademark sinister charm and unconventional
delivery to the classic comic book villain. 
 

*True Romance (1993)

Walken plays a scene opposite Dennis Hopper in
this film. This so-called 'Sicilian scene' has
become a cult favourite and is frequently hailed
by critics - professional and amateur alike - as
the best scene in the film. This scene alone is
the subject of four commentaries on the DVD
attesting to its cult status. After an exchange of
dialogue (penned by Quentin Tarantino) Walken's
character, Sicilian gangster Vincenzo Coccotti,
summarily executes Hopper's character after
deliberate provocation by the latter.

*Pulp Fiction (1994)

This film, which has received many accolades,
contains another frequently quoted cult scene with
Walken scripted by Tarantino. Here Walken offers a
slightly disturbing, but nonethless amusing turn
as a Vietnam veteran, Captain Koons, who in a long
speech delivers a watch to a small boy from his
dead father. Koons explains just how the watch had
been hidden during long years in a prisoner of war
camp.

*Weapon of Choice (2001)

Weapon of Choice is a three minute video clip
directed by Spike Jonze with music by Fatboy Slim.
Spike Jonze has directed numerous other video
clips and films such as Being John Malkovich and
Adaptation. It won six MTV awards in 2001 and also
won best video of all time in April 2002, in a
list of the top 100 videos of all time, compiled
from a survey of musicians, directors and music
industry figures conducted by a UK music TV
channel VH1. In this video, Walken performs a
virtuoso tap dance around the lobby of the
Marriott hotel in Los Angeles. Walken also helped
choreograph the dance.

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Ronald Walken (born March 31, 1943), known
professionally as Christopher Walken, is an United
States|American film, television, and theatre
actor best known for playing menacing or
psychologically damaged characters.  He was born
in Queens, New York and has been married to
casting director Georgianne Walken since 1969.

Walken initially trained as a dancer in musical
theatre before moving on to more serious roles in
theatre and then film. A select number of his
movies include dance moves that he has worked in,
reflecting this early background. 

He has been in nearly one hundred movies and
television shows since 1953, including The Dead
Zone (film)|The Dead Zone (1983 in film|1983),
Brainstorm (1983 movie)|Brainstorm (1983), A View
to a Kill (1985 in film|1985), Batman Returns
(1992 in film|1992) True Romance (1993 in
film|1993), Pulp Fiction (1994 in film|1994), Nick
of Time (film)|Nick of Time (1995 in film|1995)
and Catch Me If You Can (2002). He was George
Lucas' second choice for Han Solo after Harrison
Ford.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0
,4120,1286587,00.html
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/walken.html He
won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in
The Deer Hunter (1978) where he played a disturbed
Vietnam war|Vietnam vet alongside Robert De Niro.
He was nominated again in 2002 for Catch Me if You
Can. 

He also has a considerable body of work in theatre
with over 100 plays to his credit. He won the
Clarence Derwent award for his performance in The
Lion in Winter in 1966 and an Obie for his 1975
perfomance in Kid Champion. He has perfomed the
main role in a number of Shakespeare plays —
notably Hamlet, Macbeth,  Romeo and Juliet and
Coriolanus.

He tried his hand at writing and film
director|directing with the short five minute film
Popcorn Shrimp in 2001.

He is also a frequent guest on Saturday Night Live
where he has a recurring character and sketch
called "The Continental (TV skit)|The
Continental".  Another skit for which Walken has
become famous was a spoof recording session for
Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." 
Playing Bruce Dickinson, a music producer, he
repeatedly stopped the recording to request "More
cowbell!" This sketch has become a huge cult hit.

He has also starred in two music videos.  His
first video role was as Madonna
(entertainer)|Madonna's guardian angel in her 1993
"Bad Girl" video, and the second appearance was in
Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice video in 2001.

== Notable performances ==
Listed in chronological order. More general
information about each of these films can be found
on the individual pages for the films

*Annie Hall (1977)

This Oscar winning film directed by Woody Allen is
often cited by Walken and others as the first film
that brought the actor and his unusual qualities
to the attention of the mainstream viewing public.
In a lightning appearance, he plays the strange
and suicidally fixated brother of Annie Hall
(Diane Keaton) providing the opportunity for a
couple of fine comic reactions from Woody Allen.

*The Deer Hunter (1978)

Walken won an Oscar for best supporting actor with
his performance in this controversial film. He
plays Nick Chevotarevich, a young Pennsylvania
steelworker with a poetic bent who is emotionally
and spiritually destroyed by the experience of war
in Vietnam. Walken's perfomance is notable for his
transformation from a sensitive,  gentle character
to a zoned out automaton, high on heroin and
gambling with his life at Russian roulette.

*Heaven's Gate (1980)

This film is worth mentioning for the immense
scandal it caused both during its production and
after its release. It led to the financial ruin of
United Artists, hastened the end of directorial
control of films in Hollywood and offended many in
a climate marked by a return to political
conservatism with the election of President
Reagan. The film by no means deserves its
reputation as a bad film and has only recently
begun to receive attention as an epic and richly
textured work of art. Although Walken's role does
not provide him with the opportunities offered by
Michael Cimino's previous film The Deer Hunter,
his cold and alien menace as a highly efficient
hired gun is unexpectedly offset by a romantic
vulnerability and a subtly amusing take on his
character, Nat Champion's aspirations to social
betterment.

*The Dead Zone (film)|The Dead Zone (1983)

Walken plays schoolteacher Johnny Smith, who after
lying in a coma for five years awakes to find he
has psychic powers. The role is currently being
reprised by Anthony Michael Hall in a TV series of
the same name. Walken later spoofed his role in a
sketch in Saturday Night Live in a sketch titled
"Trivial Psychic". Walken's otherworldly looks and
his ability to play vulnerable damaged characters
are put to good effect here.

*At Close Range (1986)

Walken stars as Brad Whitewood, a psychotic rural
Pennsylvania family crime boss, who tries to bring
his two estranged sons, played by real-life
brothers Sean Penn and Chris Penn, into his
criminal world. Based on a true story about the
Bruce Johnston crime family which operated in
eastern Pennsylvania during the late 1970s.

*The Comfort of Strangers (1990)

This art house film directed by Paul Schrader, who
scripted Taxi Driver, has the notable distinction
of providing a role for Walken that disturbed even
him. http://salmonlust.com/cw/cw-lunch92.htm He
plays a decadent Italy|Italian aristocrat, Robert,
who lives with his wife (Helen Mirren) in Venice.
Robert has extreme sexual tastes and murderous
tendencies. Walken, sporting Armani suits,
provides an understated performance that combines
charm, evil and sudden and shocking violence.

*King of New York (1990)

This film by noted independent New York film maker
Abel Ferrara has attracted both a cult following
and the attention of serious film theorists (for
example Nicole Brenez
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/21/sd_ac
tor_edit.html). Walken stars as mysterious but
ruthless New York City drug dealer Frank White,
recently released from prison and set on
reclaiming his criminal territory by any means
necessary.  White also has moral pretentions
acting as a kind of a Robin Hood figure. In this
film Walken has the opportunity and screen time to
demonstrate his range and his experimental
abilities as an actor.

*Batman Returns (1992)

In Walken's first collaboration with Tim Burton
(the second was 1999's Sleepy Hollow
(movie)|Sleepy Hollow) he played Max Schreck, an
evil millionaire who allies with the Penguin to
kill Batman. He also attempts to kill his
long-suffering secretary, Selina Kyle, when she
discovers his plans. She survives, and becomes
Catwoman. For this role, Walken applied his
trademark sinister charm and unconventional
delivery to the classic comic book villain. 
 

*True Romance (1993)

Walken plays a scene opposite Dennis Hopper in
this film. This so-called 'Sicilian scene' has
become a cult favourite and is frequently hailed
by critics — professional and amateur alike —
as the best scene in the film. This scene alone is
the subject of four Audio commentary
(DVD)|commentaries on the DVD attesting to its
cult status. After an exchange of dialogue (penned
by Quentin Tarantino) Walken's character, Sicilian
gangster Vincenzo Coccotti, summarily executes
Hopper's character after deliberate provocation by
the latter.

Of this scene, Walken said: "First of all, he made
me laugh, and that was very important in the
scene. The fact that I was really enjoying this
guy, and then I shoot him anyway. And the same is
true of him - he really enjoyed telling me that
story. And you could see it was delightful, don't
you think? It happens to end with me shooting him
in the head. But up until then, wasn't it
delightful?" -- Christopher Walken, Neon Magazine,
1997.

*Pulp Fiction (1994)

This film, which has received many accolades,
contains another frequently quoted cult scene with
Walken scripted by Tarantino. Here Walken offers a
slightly disturbing, but nonethless amusing turn
as a Vietnam veteran, Captain Koons, who in a long
speech delivers a watch to a small boy from his
dead father. Koons explains just how the watch had
been hidden during long years in a prisoner of war
camp.

*Wild Side (1995)

This film was made by Donald Cammell who directed
the experimental landmark film of sixties
counter-culture Performance (film)|Performance
with Mick Jagger. Cammell removed his name from
the 1995 studio cut of Wild Side and a far
superior 'director's cut' was only released
posthumously in 2000. The film boasts what is
perhaps Walken's most extreme performance. In one
notable and lengthy scene his character,
international money launderer Bruno Buckingham,
high on drugs, graphically threatens to rape his
chauffeur, an undercover cop. 

*Weapon of Choice (2001)

Weapon of Choice is a three minute video clip
directed by Spike Jonze with music by Fatboy Slim.
Spike Jonze has directed numerous other video
clips and films such as Being John Malkovich and
Adaptation.. It won six MTV awards in 2001 and
also won best video of all time in April 2002, in
a list of the top 100 videos of all time, compiled
from a survey of musicians, directors and music
industry figures conducted by a UK music TV
channel VH1. In this video, Walken performs a
virtuoso tap dance around the lobby of the
Marriott International|Marriott Hotel in Los
Angeles, California|Los Angeles. Walken also
helped choreograph the dance.

== External links ==

*imdb name|id=0000686|name=Christopher Walken
*http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biogr
aphies/christopher_walken_biog.html Christopher
Walken biography
*http://home.iprimus.com.au/panopticon1/deadzone/
Walken Works – A Christopher Walken film
review site
*http://www.chriswalken.at Gabriela's Christopher
Walken page
*http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1543
Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim (Songfacts)