91 Facts About Christopher Walken

1.

Christopher Walken was born on Ronald Walken; March 31,1943 and is an American actor.

2.

Prolific in film, television, and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades.

3.

Christopher Walken has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards.

4.

Christopher Walken's films have grossed more than $1.6 billion in the United States alone.

5.

Christopher Walken has appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Anderson Tapes, Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Roseland and Annie Hall, before coming to wider attention as the troubled Vietnam War veteran Nick Chevotarevich in The Deer Hunter.

6.

Christopher Walken's performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

7.

Christopher Walken was nominated for the same award for portraying con artist Frank Abagnale's father in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.

8.

Christopher Walken has provided voice work for the animated films Antz and The Jungle Book.

9.

Christopher Walken is a popular guest-host of Saturday Night Live, hosting seven times.

10.

Christopher Walken was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Martin McDonagh's A Behanding in Spokane.

11.

Christopher Walken wrote and played the lead role in the 1995 play Him, about his idol Elvis Presley.

12.

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

13.

Christopher Walken's parents were Rosalie Russell, a Scottish immigrant from Glasgow, and Paul Walken, a German immigrant from Gelsenkirchen who owned and operated Walken's Bakery in Astoria.

14.

Christopher Walken attended Hofstra University, but dropped out after one year, having been cast in the role of Clayton Dutch Miller in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot Forward alongside Liza Minnelli.

15.

Christopher Walken initially trained as a dancer at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to dramatic stage roles and then film.

16.

Christopher Walken landed a regular role in the 1953 television show Wonderful John Acton, playing the part of Kevin Acton.

17.

In 1966, Christopher Walken played the role of King Philip of France in the Broadway premiere of The Lion in Winter.

18.

In 1969, Christopher Walken guest-starred in Hawaii Five-O as Navy SP Walt Kramer.

19.

In 1964, he changed his first name to Christopher at the suggestion of Monique van Vooren, who had a nightclub act in which Walken was a dancer.

20.

Christopher Walken believed the name suited him better than Ronnie, which he was credited as until then.

21.

Christopher Walken prefers to be known informally as Chris instead of Christopher.

22.

In 1970, Christopher Walken starred in the Off-Broadway production of Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky opposite Charles Durning and Bonnie Bartlett.

23.

Later that year Christopher Walken received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance.

24.

Christopher Walken made his feature film debut with a small role opposite Sean Connery in Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes.

25.

In Woody Allen's 1977 film Annie Hall, Christopher Walken played the borderline crazy brother of Annie Hall.

26.

Also in 1977, Christopher Walken had a minor role as Eli Wallach's partner in The Sentinel.

27.

In 1977, Christopher Walken starred in an episode of Kojak as Ben Wiley, a robber.

28.

Christopher Walken won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter.

29.

Christopher Walken plays a young Pennsylvania steelworker who is emotionally destroyed by the Vietnam War.

30.

Christopher Walken starred in the 1981 action adventure The Dogs of War, directed by John Irvin.

31.

Christopher Walken then played schoolteacher-turned-psychic Johnny Smith in David Cronenberg's 1983 adaptation of Stephen King's The Dead Zone.

32.

That same year, Christopher Walken starred in Brainstorm alongside Natalie Wood and his wife, Georgianne.

33.

In 1985, Christopher Walken played a James Bond villain, Max Zorin, in A View to a Kill, Roger Moore's last appearance as Bond.

34.

Christopher Walken dyed his hair blond to befit Zorin's origins as a Nazi experiment.

35.

Christopher Walken played the leading role of Whitley Strieber in 1989's Communion, an autobiographical film written by Strieber.

36.

That same year, Christopher Walken appeared in the film Homeboy, which was written by and featured Mickey Rourke in the titular role.

37.

In 1991, Christopher Walken starred in Sarah, Plain and Tall as Jacob Witting, a widowed farmer.

38.

In 1992, Christopher Walken played villain millionaire industrialist Max Shreck in Batman Returns.

39.

Christopher Walken played Bobby, Cassandra's producer, in Wayne's World 2.

40.

Christopher Walken has a supporting role in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction as a Vietnam veteran named Captain Koons.

41.

Later in 1994, Christopher Walken starred in A Business Affair, a rare leading role for him in a romantic comedy.

42.

Christopher Walken manages to feature his trademark dancing scene as he performs the tango.

43.

Christopher Walken appeared in Nick of Time, which stars Johnny Depp, and an art house film by David Salle titled Search and Destroy.

44.

In 1995, Christopher Walken acted in "Him," the first play written by Christopher Walken, and about his idol Elvis in the afterlife, featured in the New York Shakespeare Festival.

45.

In 1996 Christopher Walken appeared in the Italian film Celluloide as US Officer Rod Geiger and played the role of Ray in the Abel Ferrara crime-drama film The Funeral.

46.

In 1997, Christopher Walken starred in the comedy films Touch and Excess Baggage and had a minor role in the film Mouse Hunt.

47.

In 1998, Christopher Walken played an influential gay New York theater critic in John Turturro's film Illuminata.

48.

Christopher Walken appeared in Kiss Toledo Goodbye with Michael Rapaport and Nancy Allen.

49.

In 2000, Christopher Walken was cast as the lead, along with Blair Brown, in James Joyce's The Dead on Broadway.

50.

Christopher Walken had a notable music video performance in 2001 with Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice".

51.

Also in 2001, Christopher Walken played a gangster who was in the witness protection program in the David Spade comedy Joe Dirt and an eccentric film director in America's Sweethearts.

52.

Also in 2001, Christopher Walken played Lieutenant Macduff in Scotland, PA, a loose film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

53.

In 2002 Christopher Walken played Mike in the film Poolhall Junkies and played Frank Abagnale, Sr.

54.

Christopher Walken's portrayal earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

55.

Christopher Walken had a part in the 2003 action comedy film The Rundown, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Seann William Scott, in which he plays a ruthless despot.

56.

Christopher Walken was nominated for a Razzie in 2002's The Country Bears and in two 2003 films, Gigli and Kangaroo Jack.

57.

Christopher Walken starred in Barry Levinson's Envy, in which he plays J-Man, a crazy guy who helps Ben Stiller's character and in his starring role in 2004's Around the Bend he again has a dancing scene as he portrays an absentee father who has fled prison to reunite with his father, his son and the grandson he never knew before dying.

58.

Also in 2004, Christopher Walken played Mike in the film The Stepford Wives.

59.

Christopher Walken co-starred in the 2007 film adaptation Hairspray, wherein he is seen singing and dancing in a romantic duet with John Travolta and portrayed the eccentric but cruel crime lord and Ping-Pong enthusiast Feng in the 2007 comedy action film Balls of Fury opposite Dan Fogler.

60.

Christopher Walken was in the film Five Dollars a Day, in which he plays a con man proud of living like a king on $5 a day.

61.

Christopher Walken starred in Universal Studios Florida's "Disaster" attraction.

62.

Christopher Walken portrayed the owner of "Disaster Studios" Frank Kincaid and encouraged guests to be extras in his latest film, Mutha Nature.

63.

Christopher Walken was projected on a clear screen, much like a life-size hologram and interacted with the live-action talent.

64.

Christopher Walken returned to Broadway in Martin McDonagh's play A Behanding in Spokane in 2010 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

65.

Christopher Walken had a small voice role in NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in the "Audition Day" episode.

66.

In 2012, Christopher Walken reunited with McDonagh for the British-American crime comedy film Seven Psychopaths and played the founder and leader of a string quartet in A Late Quartet.

67.

Christopher Walken costarred with Al Pacino and Alan Arkin in the film Stand Up Guys, a story about aging gangsters out on the town for one last hoorah.

68.

In December 2012, Christopher Walken was selected as a "GQ" Man of the Year.

69.

Christopher Walken appears as Gyp DeCarlo in the 2014 film Jersey Boys.

70.

In 2015, Christopher Walken starred in the film When I Live My Life Over Again and played the role of Clem for the second time in the David Spade comedy Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser.

71.

Christopher Walken recorded a cover of Louie's song "I Wan'na Be Like You", which he sings in the film as well as on the soundtrack.

72.

In 2017, Christopher Walken replaced Bill Irwin in the role of Walter Tinkler in the critically panned Father Figures.

73.

Christopher Walken will portray Emperor Shaddam IV in the 2023 film, Dune: Part Two.

74.

Christopher Walken is known for his versatility and was named as one of Empire magazine's "Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time".

75.

Christopher Walken's work has been praised and acclaimed by many popular figures.

76.

Christopher Walken is noted for refusing film roles only rarely, having stated in interviews that he will decline a role only if he is too busy to accept.

77.

The role was then given to Christopher Walken's New Rose Hotel co-star Willem Dafoe.

78.

Christopher Walken has hosted the comedy sketch and satire TV series Saturday Night Live seven times.

79.

One of Christopher Walken's more famous SNL performances was a spoof of Behind the Music, featuring a recording session of Blue Oyster Cult's " the Reaper".

80.

Christopher Walken is known for his part in one of Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch's "The Luvahs" skits.

81.

Christopher Walken's character brought a lady friend to meet The Luvahs and she is subjected to learning the history that Walken's character shares with The Luvahs.

82.

Christopher Walken spoofed his starring role from The Dead Zone in a sketch titled "Ed Glosser: Trivial Psychic".

83.

Christopher Walken's lair was still under construction; his henchmen had jump suits that didn't fit; and his shark tank lacked sharks, having a giant sea sponge instead.

84.

Christopher Walken performed a song and dance rendition of the Irving Berlin standard, "Let's Face the Music and Dance".

85.

Finally, there was the "Colonel Angus" sketch, laden with ribald double entendres, in which Christopher Walken played a dishonored Confederate officer.

86.

Until 2003, Christopher Walken had a recurring SNL sketch called "The Continental", in which Christopher Walken played a "suave ladies' man" who in reality cannot do anything to keep a woman from giving him the cold shoulder.

87.

The April 5,2008 Saturday Night Live show was the first time an episode hosted by Christopher Walken did not have a "Continental" sketch or a monologue in which he sang and danced.

88.

Christopher Walken became the subject of a hoax controversy in 2006, when a fake website started in August of that year by members of Internet forum Genmay.

89.

Some believed it was authentic, until Christopher Walken's publicist dismissed the claims.

90.

In 1963, Christopher Walken met Georgianne Thon during a tour of West Side Story.

91.

The couple have no children and Christopher Walken has stated in interviews that not having children is one of the reasons he has had such a prolific career.