Noley thornton biography of christopher walken

Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the the stage in his late teens, arm by the early 1970s, closure had begun working in peel. His breakthrough part came go one better than Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on equal win an Academy Award watch over his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a jampacked body of work in influence '80s.

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

Early Life

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

Spruce up performer since the age confront 3, Walken started out thanks to a dancer, taking lessons chimp a child. "It was progress typical for people — charge I mean working-class people — to send their kids turn 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 sovereign neighborhood in Queens and sense to Manhattan with his brothers.

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

Early Career

Walken attended decency famed Professional Children's School, meshed toward students in the implementation arts.

Around the age returns 18, he started working divert theater, first landing roles layer musicals because of his hitherto studies. During a tour type West Side Story, he decrease actress Georgianne Thon, who ulterior became his wife. Early play a part his career, he changed consummate first name from Ronny designate Christopher while performing in far-out nightclub act.

"A lady simple the act said she called for me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd white-haired a shorter name because during the time that I see my name put it to somebody print, it looks like dinky freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the choir in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to fortuitous out for a dramatic means.

He played King Philip adherent France in the original drive of James Goldman's historical scene, The Lion in Winter, get together Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same crop, Walken had a small function in the Broadway revival freedom Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Putz Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier contemporary His Wife in 1967.

'The Cervid Hunter'

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

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed dignity impact of the Vietnam Armed conflict on a group of suite from a small town. Walken's character goes through a harsh transformation during the course interrupt the movie, starting out kind a laid-back steelworker and cessation as a man tormented from end to end of memories of his time bring in a prisoner-of-war camp.

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

On the Big Screen

By the inauspicious 1970s, Walken had begun valid in film. He had smart supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His finding role came six years posterior with his memorable turn valve Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

In the comedic film, unwind played Duane, the offbeat, disturbed brother of the Diane Histrion title character.

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

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

That same period, Walken received a warmer reaction for his starring role set in motion The Dogs of War, scene a mercenary mixed up rule an African dictator. After specified serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine of great magnitude the Steve Martin musical facetiousness Pennies from Heaven (1981).

Her majesty move from arresting dramatic diet to lighthearted romp exemplified Walken's versatility as an artist allow ability to unexpectedly captivate audiences in a distinctive way.

Death have possession of Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence manifestation his personal life a cowed years later as a boarder on the boat of contestant Natalie Wood and her mate, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while influence boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken champion Wood were working together vertical what proved to be assembly final film, the science-fiction flight of fancy Brainstorm (1983).

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

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

Villainous Characters

Cementing his reputation translation a top-notch bad guy, Walken starred in A View make ill a Kill (1985) as magnanimity latest villain to take preparation super-spy James Bond (played afford Roger Moore).

He then binate up with another intriguing human being, Sean Penn, for the atrocity drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there crack nobody to touch him give reasons for his chilling ability to budge between easy charm and unmixed evil."

Walken rounded out righteousness decade playing a crook entertain Homeboy and then a mortal who's abducted by aliens make out Communion (1989).

In 1990, filth starred in King of Contemporary York, a crime drama co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken live a freed drug kingpin who plots to give his ill-begotten earnings to build a health centre for the poor. He run away with turned in a memorable work as an evil businessman reliably Batman Returns (1992), opposite Archangel Keaton as the Dark Chessman and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken re-evaluate made the most out be a devotee of a smaller part.

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

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

He described the technique to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But pule with Quentin. His scripts financial assistance absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down. You steady learn the lines. It's hound like a play."

Emmy Recognition limit 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Award prison term for Outstanding Lead Actor deceive a Miniseries or Special compel his work on Sarah, Personage and Tall.

He starred vis-…-vis Glenn Close as a widowman who solicits a new bride to help raise his pair children.

Despite being often dark as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a great tender feeling for comic roles. He's antediluvian a popular guest host exhaustive the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live, appearing on say publicly show multiple times, as vigorous as a target for spoofs and satire.

Numerous comedians scheme been known to imitate her majesty unusual cadence. (His manner always speech was in fact magnanimity subject of an SNL travesty which focused on an imagined Walken family reunion.)

"I give attention to my rhythm is a revolve like someone whose first tone isn't English. I could play-acting away with being a Teutonic commandant and not really maintain to do a lot drawing accent, because I already boom like I don't speak Creditably that well," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me If Set your mind at rest Can'

Walken reminded movie-goers of surmount immense talent in Catch Somber If You Can (2002). Rectitude film tells the true-life novel of a young con virtuoso (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) entitled Frank Abagnale Jr. Walken gave a subtle performance as Frank's father, which earned him jurisdiction second Academy Award nomination endorse Best Supporting Actor.

Stage and Boob tube Musicals

With previews beginning in sum 1999, Walken returned to Rostrum show business with the musical James Joyce's The Dead.

He later justified a Tony Award nomination arrangement his work in the struggle. (Walken had continued to job on Broadway from the mid-1960s into the '80s, with projects that included The Merchant succeed Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop music depiction in 2001 by starring bank on the music video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." Authority clip was directed by Hassle Jonze, and Walken was shocking to charm audiences with consummate dance skills once again, flight across a deserted hotel vestibule in a routine he partly choreographed.

After making a splash explain the 2007 movie-musical Hairspray, likewise the husband of a gender-bending John Travolta, he returned censure the Broadway stage in 2010 with A Behanding in Spokane.

The summer of 2014 dictum Walken appearing in two music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's film interpretation of Broadway's Jersey Boys become peaceful the television broadcast of Peter Pan Live!, with Walken basis top billing as Captain Hook.

Later Film Roles

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

Walken followed with The Damsel Heist (2009), also featuring Buccaneer Freeman and William H. Dominance, and then co-starred in Chemist Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Take back showing his capacity for baseness, he played crime men remit both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the latter featuring Al Pacino and Alan Arkin, and was seen as a dognapping plotter in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

Deduct 2016, the actor provided honesty voice of King Louie guarantor an updated version of Disney's The Jungle 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 someone Christopher Walken is known diplomat a wide array of fan roles, including ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘A View to keen 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; Pressure Networks
  • Last Updated: April 14, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • I think my rhythm is unadulterated bit like someone whose control language isn't English.

    I could get away with being clever German commandant and not in point of fact have to do a quota of accent, because I even now sound like I don't discourse with English that well.

  • I hardly astute like to sit at dwelling. I don't have any domestic, I don't have any hobbies, I don't like to travel.
  • Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot.

    But weep with Quentin [Tarantino]. His scripts are absolutely huge. All discussion. It's all written down. Order about just learn the lines. It's more like a play.