Christopher Walken (pronounced /ˈwɔːkən/ wawk-ən; born March 31, 1943) is an American actor in both theater and film. Walken is a prolific actor who has had a career which has lasted over 50 years.[1] He has appeared in over 100 movie and television roles, including A View to a Kill, At Close Range, The Deer Hunter, King of New York, Batman Returns, Pulp Fiction, Sleepy Hollow, True Romance and Catch Me If You Can as well as music videos by recording artists such as Madonna.
Walken's early career began primarily in theatre and television, where he often played small roles with limited appearances. During these early stages of his career, Walken was credited as "Ken Walken" and later as "Ronnie Walken", until finally settling on "Christopher Walken" Walken began acting in films by 1969, and after a series of increasingly larger roles, won an Academy Award in 1978 as Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Deer Hunter. Since then, Walken has become a highly sought-after actor, typically performing in numerous films every year.
Walken has been a primary character in two film franchises: as Gabriel the fallen angel in The Prophecy series, and as Jacob Witting in the made-for-television films based on Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah, Plain and Tall novels. Other notable roles include Johnny Smith in The Dead Zone, Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction, and Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me if You Can. He is also co-producer of his film New Rose Hotel and also sing songs in some of his film including Puss in Boots and Hairspray, he also tries to work a jig (dance) into his movies. Christopher Walken also stars in some TV series and theater plays. Walken produced, wrote and directed a short film named Popcorn Shrimp, he also starred in another short film named Engine Trouble in 2002. His upcoming projects are Five Dollars a Day and The Lonely Maiden. He has been rumored for the upcoming films The Dirt and Kevin Approaches. His other film, Citizen Brando is in in-production. Some of his films are unreleased like Jungle Juice (2001).
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Following his early (1950s) work in television and theatre, Walken has primarily acted in films. This list includes credits in studio films, independent films, animated films, as well as made-for-television movies. The list includes the 2001 short five minute film Popcorn Shrimp, which Walken wrote, produced, and directed.
In the beginning of his acting career, Walken had relatively small roles in episodes for a number television shows. This list includes appearances in various episodes of fictional shows, while excluding appearances as himself on talk shows, interview shows, ceremonies, and the like.
| Year | Show | Role | Run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Wonderful John Acton[III] | Kevin Acton | Recurring character |
| 1954 | The Motorola Television Hour[III] | 1 episode | |
| 1954 | The Guiding Light | Michael "Mike" Bauer#1 | 1954–1956 |
| 1963 | Naked City[III] | Chris Johannis | 1 episode |
| 1970 | Hawaii Five-O | Walt Kramer | |
| 1977 | Kojak | Ben Wiley |
^ III Credited as "Ronnie Walken."
Christopher Walken has hosted Saturday Night Live a total of seven times, and is therefore part of the "Five-Timers Club", a select group of celebrities who have hosted the show five or more times. Among Walken's roles on the show are as the title character in "The Continental" and as fictional record producer Bruce Dickinson in "More Cowbell". In 2004, The Best of Christopher Walken was released on DVD, featuring highlights from Walken's many appearances on the show.
| No. | Air date | Musical guest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 20, 1990 | Bonnie Raitt |
| 2 | October 24, 1992 | Arrested Development |
| 3 | January 13, 1996 | Joan Osborne |
| 4 | April 8, 2000 | Christina Aguilera |
| 5 | May 19, 2001 | Weezer |
| 6 | February 22, 2003 | Foo Fighters |
| 7 | April 5, 2008 | Panic! at the Disco |
This list includes complete appearances of Christopher Walken as himself in TV shows except Saturday Night Live.
| Title | Episode |
|---|---|
| Friday Night, Saturday Morning | Episode #3.13 (1980) |
| Great Performances | Celebrating Gershwin: 'S Wonderful (1987) |
| Late Night with David Letterman | Episode dated 12 June 1992 |
| Inside the Actors Studio | Episode #2.9 (1995) |
| The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Episode dated 13 August 1997 |
| Rotten TV | Episode #1.2 (2000) |
| The Movie Chart Show | Episode dated 12 December 2001 |
| Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary | |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Episode dated 20 June 2005 |
| Today | Episode dated 12 July 2005 |
| Sunday Morning Shootout | Episode 2.4 Inside the Academy Awards |
| Getaway | Episode #15.21 |
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Episode dated 5 January 2000 Episode dated 26 July 2000 Episode dated 18 February 2003 Episode dated 3 October 2003 Episode dated 29 September 2004 Episode dated 26 September 2006 Episode dated 16 July 2007 |
| The Daily Show | Episode dated 17 July 2007 |
| Rove Live | Rove:New York |
| Live with Regis and Kathie Lee | Episode dated 24 July 2007 Episode dated 12 October 2006 Episode dated 28 September 2004 |
| Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | Episode dated 30 October 2009 |
In addition to acting for film and television, Walken has acted in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway theater productions. He has acted more than 100 additional plays including Shakespeare plays.[2] This list includes the most popular of them.
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | The Climate of Eden[IV] | Berton | Martin Beck Theatre | November 13, 1952 – November 22, 1952 |
| 1958 | The Visit[IV] | Karl Schill | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | May 5, 1958 – July 5, 1958 |
| Morosco Theatre | August 20, 1958 – November 29, 1958 | |||
| J.B.[III] | David[V] | ANTA Playhouse | December 11, 1958 – October 24, 1959 | |
| 1964 | High Spirits[III] | musical ensemble | Alvin Theatre | April 7, 1964 – February 27, 1965 |
| 1965 | Baker Street | One of the Killers | The Broadway Theatre | February 2, 1965 – November 30, 1965 |
| Martin Beck Theatre | November 3, 1965 – November 14, 1965 | |||
| 1966 | The Lion in Winter | Philip Capet (King of France) |
Ambassador Theatre | March 3, 1966 – May 21, 1966 |
| The Rose Tattoo | Jack Hunter | Billy Rose Theatre | November 9, 1966 – December 31, 1966 | |
| 1967 | The Unknown Soldier and His Wife | Unknown Soldier | Vivian Beaumont Theatre | July 6, 1967 – September 16, 1967 |
| George Abbott Theatre | September 18, 1967 – November 12, 1967 | |||
| 1972 | Enemies | Sintsov | Vivian Beaumont Theatre | November 9, 1972 – December 16, 1972 |
| 1973 | The Plough and the Stars | Jack Clitheroe | January 4, 1973 – February 10, 1973 | |
| The Merchant of Venice | Bassanio | March 1, 1973 – April 7, 1973 | ||
| 1975 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Chance Wayne | Harkness Theatre | December 29, 1975 – February 8, 1976 |
| 1984 | Hurlyburly | Mickey | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | August 7, 1984 – June 2, 1985 |
| 1995 | Him[3] | Elvis Presley, director, writer | New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| 2000 | James Joyce's The Dead | Gabriel Conroy | Belasco Theatre | January 11, 2000 – April 16, 2000 |
| 2001 | The Seagull | Sorin | Delacorte Theatre | July 24, 2001 – August 26, 2001[4] |
| 2010 | A Behanding in Spokane | Carmichael | Schoenfeld Theatre | March 4 – June 6 |
^ III Credited as "Ronnie Walken."
^ IV Credited as "Ken Walken."
^ V Acted as a replacement for Arnold Merritt.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe on the "Closed on Account of Rabies" CD.