Nervous-looking lead and supporting actor of the American stage and films, with sandy colored hair, pale complexion and a somewhat nervous disposition. He won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in _The Deer Hunter .
Jerry Lewis influenced Walken to make show business his career. At age 10, he met Lewis on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" , where Lewis and Dean Martin were guest hosts. Walken was an extra on the show and was in a skit with Lewis.
Walken initially intended to study dancing instead of acting, but dropped out of Hofstra University after one year when he landed an off-Broadway musical "Best Foot Forward" in 1963.
(October 1997) Ranked #96 in Empire magazines "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
Brother of Glenn Walken and Ken Walken.
Was George Lucas second choice for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars .
Worked briefly as a lion tamer in a circus at age 15.
Attended the Professional Childrens School.
Has a phobia of going too fast in cars.
Was assaulted in a street in New York in 1980 when he asked two men to turn down their music. His nose was broken in the incident.
Was robbed at the airport in Venice and his The Prophecy II script, glasses, keys, drivers licence, and $100 were stolen. All items were later found, except for the money.
Was on Natalie Wood s yacht the night she drowned.
He and Nick Nolte were both considered for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars .
Manages to insert a little dance number into nearly all of his roles, no matter how small, scripted or not.
Won an MTV Video Music Award for choreographing his own dancing in Fatboy Slim s 2001 music video "Weapon Of Choice", directed by Spike Jonze.
Member of "Saturday Night Live" s prestigious "Five Timers Club".
At the beginning of The Dead Zone , he tells his class to read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Sixteen years later, he plays The Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow . Later in the film, he has a student whom hes tutoring to read Edgar Allan Poe s "The Raven". Later in life, Walken read the poem for an audio book.
Met wife, casting agent Georgianne Walken (ne Thon), while touring with "West Side Story" in Chicago.
Has an intense dislike of handguns.
Along with Alec Baldwin , he has a standing invitation to host "Saturday Night Live" every year (if scheduling permits).
When hosting "Saturday Night Live" , he likes to sing during his monologues (which has become a crowd pleasing favorite). So naturally, when co-hosting SNL specials, his introduction song "Im Walkin, Im Talkin" (for the rhyme of his last name) is played.
Is only the second person in history to be nominated for both Best Supporting Actor from the Oscars, for Catch Me If You Can , and Worst Supporting Actor from the Razzies, for The Country Bears in the same year. The first was James Coco , who was actually nominated for both awards for the same role in Only When I Laugh .
Danced with Judy Garland at Liza Minnelli s 16th birthday party.
The son of a baker.
In his 35 years in film, he has acted in well over 90 films. He rarely turns down a part, under the belief that making movies (whether they turn out good or bad) is always a rewarding experience.
Adopted the name "Christopher" when a friend told him the name suited him better than "Ronnie". Has since stated that his adopted name sounds "like a sneeze", and he prefers to be called "Chris".
At the time of filming The Rundown , he had never seen the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory , and was therefore reluctant to use the phrase "Oompah Loompah" in his final scene. When learning of this, director Peter Berg gave him a copy of the film, and he finally decided to use the phrase.
Has played 3 different characters with the name Max in Kiss Toledo Goodbye , Batman Returns and A View to a Kill .
Has different-colored eyes (one blue and one hazel). This is a condition known as heterochromia.
One of the few hosts of "Saturday Night Live" who has hosted enough times to have his own recurring skit ("The Continental").
Loves horror films featuring zombies.
Was nominated for Broadways 2000 Tony Award as Best Actor for "James Joyce s The Dead."
In order to achieve the gaunt, withdrawn and hollow look of his character in The Deer Hunter , its reported that he ate a diet consisting of only rice and bananas in preparation for this film.
Alternated with his brother Glenn Walken in the role of Mike Bauer on the soap opera "The Guiding Light" (1952) (1954-1956).
Ranked #1 on Tropopkins Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]
His father, Paul Wlken (1903-2001), was a German immigrant, from Essen, and moved to New York in 1928. His mother, Rosalie (Russell), was from Glasgow, Scotland, and came to the U.S. in 1930. She lived to be 102 years old (May 16, 1907 - March 26, 2010).
He said in an interview that he has never turned down a role.
Was considered for the role of Number Two in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery .
Was considered for the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl .
Had read Edgar Allan Poe s "The Raven" for an audio book.
His performance as Nick Chevotarevich in The Deer Hunter is ranked #88 on Premiere Magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.
Lost out to Ryan ONeal for the romantic lead in Love Story .
Received the Shakespeare Theaters Will Award in 1994 for his contributions to classical theater.
In the early 1960s he earned a job as one of three men dancing and singing with Andy Warhol favorite Monique van Vooren in her sultry nightclub act.
Was considered for the part of Andy in Dead of Night .
Doesnt use a computer or own a cell phone.
Was the first to play King Philip of France on stage for "The Lion in Winter" in 1966, at the Ambassador Theatre, New York City.
He lives in his house in the country, while his wife lives in their New York apartment. Walken says the only people he sees when he is not working are the garbage men.
Is a very skilled chef.
Was named after his mothers favorite actor, Ronald Colman.
His wife, Georgianne Walken , and his brothers, Ken Walken & Glenn Walken , still call him "Ronnie".
Has said that a 200-film career is not out of the question.
Received Harvards "Hasty Pudding Man of the Year" award on February 15, 2008.
Cannot swim very well.
A frequent host of "Saturday Night Live" , he has also been parodied on the show by Jay Mohr. The youngest ever regular cast member was Anthony Michael Hall , who succeeded him in the television series based on The Dead Zone , and who, like Walken, has appeared in the Batman film series.
He was nominated for a 1975 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Guest Artist for his performance in "Sweet Bird of Youth," at the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
He appeared on "Saturday Night Live" doing a Christmas medley called "Walken In A Winter Wonderland" which he dedicated to his mother who hated that he played so many villains.
When he did the Russian roulette scene in The Deer Hunter , he was remembering being sent to summer camp by his parents, which he hated. He felt betrayed, ostracized, alone - which he felt the character was experiencing at that point in the film.
He has been a huge fan of Elvis Presley since his mid-teens.
Quit smoking cigarettes in his late thirties.
Rosie ODonnell said he was one of the scariest people alive. Later, he appeared on her show, gave her flowers and a box of chocolates, and sang "Getting to Know You" with her.
Was cast in the role of Eric Qualen in Cliffhanger but left before filming began. The part went to John Lithgow.
Lives in Wilton, Connecticut, and has a vacation home on Block Island, Rhode Island.
Has twice played a Hessian: in Valley Forge and Sleepy Hollow .
In both The Stepford Wives and Click , portrays a man who hands over a sleek futuristic remote control with sci-fi capabilities.
In 2009, he had the honor of interacting with the entire cast of "Saturday Night Live" at the time they were doing impersonations of him in a sketch called "Walken Family Reunion".
His senior quote from high school (The Profesional Childrens School) is from Shakespeares "Loves Labours Lost" Act II, Scene I: - "the merry madcap lord - not a word with him but a jest; and every jest but a word".
(January 2013) Wilton, Connecticut: lives there with his wife, Georgianne, and their cat, Bowtie
As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Annie Hall , The Deer Hunter and Pulp Fiction . Of those, Annie Hall and The Deer Hunter are winners in the category.
Gave a dramatic reading of the lyrics of Lady Gaga s "Poker Face" on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" .
Lampooned by Eddie Izzard in his stand-up routine.
Lampooned on "The Simpsons" by an impersonator, giving an unsettling reading of "Goodnight Moon" at a Book Festival.
The first Academy Award-winning actor to play a main James Bond villain in A View to a Kill . The other two (as of 2015) are Javier Bardem in Skyfall and Christoph Waltz in Spectre .
Is widely known to be a very private man.
Is typecasting really a problem?,My hair was famous before I was.
Emotional power is maybe the most valuable thing that an actor can have.
At its best, life is completely unpredictable.
Bear costumes are funny. . . Bears as well.
Back home, I do the same things every day. Exactly the same. I eat at,the same time, I get up at the same time, I do the same things in the,same order. I read. I have coffee. Then I study my scripts, I exercise,on the treadmill, I make myself a little something to eat. I am a great,believer in the Mediterranean diet.
I believe in saving money. I believe in having a house. I believe in,keeping things clean. I believe in exercising. Slow and steady is a,very good thing for me. It works for me.
Really, the list could go on and on. Words are little bombs, and they,have a lot of energy inside them.
{On Pulp Fiction (1994) ] I put aside an hour every day to go over,that monologue again and again for months, and every time I got to the,end of it, I would crack up.
Immediately after that was The Deer Hunter (1978) , where I,played this nice guy who shoots himself in the head. Something happened,there. The fact that they came so close together, and they were both,important movies, two big public things where I was simultaneously . .
. "disturbed". That got the ball rolling for me in terms of being an,actor.
People always comment about my hair. It is unusual for a man my age to,have so much.
With stage fright you keep on doing it and eventually the fear goes,away. If you stick around long enough you become very hard to,intimidate. It is very difficult to make me nervous about working these,days. There have been so many times when I thought I was finished, but,it was not true - you just keep going. I am scared of sickness,pollution and crazy people but, work-wise, there is nothing to frighten,me.
People think that my favorite roles to do are villains, but I find,comedy to be the most challenging and rewarding.
When I was a kid, there was someone in my family, an adult, and whenever,I saw them, they would say, "You got a lotta nerve. " From the time I,was a little kid, it was always like, "Heh, heh, heh - you got a lotta,nerve. " I always thought, What does that mean? But then when I got,older, I thought that it was an instruction. If you tell a kid,something, it sticks. I think I do have a lot of nerve. But, I mean, I,think I maybe got it from that person who said it to me.
Beer, spaghetti, ice cream.
Morning is the best time to see movies.
If somebody were to do the story of my life, not that anybody would, it,would be about my wife and me around the house. It would be like,watching paint dry.
[on his style] Garish. Especially when I was younger -- I was always a,bit exotic. Never wore a hat because the hair was more important.
I think we made the whole thing in 12 hours.
Somebody once said that 80 percent of directing actors is casting them,in the first place. So you hope that they hired you because you have,some particular quality that is going to be useful to them in the,movie. Good directors usually hire you and then they kind of leave you,alone.
My hair was famous before I was.
Morning is the best time to see movies.
At its best, life is completely unpredictable.
Obviously an actor draws on his own experience.
When videotape came so a lot of movies that I do have a kind of afterlife in video. Things where movies that I do would come and go they still come and go but you can go rent them and see them on TV.
I think that weddings have probably been crashed since the beginning of time. Cavemen crashed them. You go to meet girls. It makes sense.
