Christopher Walken

Season 2, Episode 208

Original Airdate: October 23, 1996

Christopher Walken was born in Queens, New York on March 31, 1943. He started working in show business at the age of three. Originally, he intended to be a “song and dance man” but became hooked on acting when cast in his first play.

Known then as “Ronnie Walken,” he made his off-Broadway debut in 1958 at the age of fifteen in Archibald MacLeish's J.B. He studied acting at Hofstra University and received his first billing as Christopher Walken in the 1965 musical Baker Street. In 1966, he won the Theatre World award for his performance in the revival of Tennessee William's The Rose Tattoo. In 1969, he appeared in his first film, Me and My Brother.

Walken has an uncanny ability to play characters with psychological problems and has often been cast in “death wish” parts, including his portrayal of Diane Keaton's demented younger brother in Annie Hall (1977) and his Oscar-winning performance in The Deer Hunter (1979). Christopher Walken has shown a wide range of acting ability in such roles as the tap-dancing hustler in Pennies From Heaven (1981), his Emmy-nominated performance as a widowed farmer in Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) and megalomaniac villain Max Schrek in Batman Returns (1991).

In 1999, he was nominated for a Tony for his performance in James Joyce's The Dead. Happiest when he's working, Walken has appeared in over 80 films. He's played roles ranging from a Bond villain in A View to a Kill (1985), a violent mobster in True Romance (1993), to an animated insect in Antz (1998).

His dark mannerisms and solemn speaking style have become so associated with his persona that he's risked becoming a parody of himself - and this is a fact that is not lost on Walken. He has often appeared on Saturday Night Live, mocking his own public image.

He recently appeared on stage with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Philip Seymour Hoffman and others in the 2001 Shakespeare in the Park production of Chekov's The Seagull.