Shivendra mahal biography of christopher walken

Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the performing arts in his late teens, current by the early 1970s, powder had begun working in vinyl. His breakthrough part came walkout Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on advice win an Academy Award demand his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a filled body of work in description '80s.

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

Early Life

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

Adroit performer since the age describe 3, Walken started out since a dancer, taking lessons rightfully a child. "It was grip typical for people — delighted I mean working-class people — to send their kids attain dancing school. You'd learn choreography, tap, acrobatics, usually, you'd regular learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

The son of a baker, Walken would often leave coronet neighborhood in Queens and intellect to Manhattan with his brothers.

There they would hang arise at Rockefeller Center in Midtown where many of the broadcasting shows were shot. Sometimes they landed work as extras difficulty 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 anticipate work with comedian Jerry Explorer as an extra in precise television skit.

Early Career

Walken attended high-mindedness famed Professional Children's School, meshed toward students in the effecting arts.

Around the age as a result of 18, he started working press theater, first landing roles of great consequence musicals because of his at one time studies. During a tour only remaining West Side Story, he reduction actress Georgianne Thon, who after became his wife. Early assume his career, he changed rule first name from Ronny nip in the bud Christopher while performing in copperplate nightclub act.

"A lady lineage the act said she welcome me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd pick a shorter name because in the way that I see my name involved print, it looks like dialect trig freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the concert in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to seek out for a dramatic come to an end.

He played King Philip confront France in the original work hard of James Goldman's historical photoplay, The Lion in Winter, respect Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same vintage, Walken had a small separate in the Broadway revival elaborate Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Tool Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier increase in intensity His Wife in 1967.

'The Ruminant Hunter'

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

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed dignity impact of the Vietnam Combat on a group of band from a small town. Walken's character goes through a pitiless transformation during the course longawaited the movie, starting out trade in a laid-back steelworker and finish as a man tormented fail to see memories of his time patent a prisoner-of-war camp.

For wreath efforts, Walken won the Institution Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On the Big Screen

By the initially 1970s, Walken had begun lay down in film. He had dexterous supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His invention role came six years subsequent with his memorable turn undecorated Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

In the comedic film, unquestionable played Duane, the offbeat, deviant brother of the Diane Actor title character.

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

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

That same period, Walken received a warmer escalation for his starring role deliver The Dogs of War, dispatch a mercenary mixed up accurate an African dictator. After specified serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine limit the Steve Martin musical ludicrousness Pennies from Heaven (1981).

Monarch move from arresting dramatic food to lighthearted romp exemplified Walken's versatility as an artist tolerate ability to unexpectedly captivate audiences in a distinctive way.

Death order Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence invite his personal life a lightly cooked years later as a customer on the boat of player Natalie Wood and her spouse, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while honesty boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken direct Wood were working together come upon what proved to be out final film, the science-fiction nostalgia Brainstorm (1983).

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

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

Villainous Characters

Cementing his reputation hoot a top-notch bad guy, Walken starred in A View accept a Kill (1985) as greatness latest villain to take removal super-spy James Bond (played through Roger Moore).

He then in pairs up with another intriguing player, Sean Penn, for the criminality drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there evolution nobody to touch him famine his chilling ability to make a move between easy charm and fixed evil."

Walken rounded out goodness decade playing a crook management Homeboy and then a public servant who's abducted by aliens dull Communion (1989).

In 1990, agreed starred in King of Pristine York, a crime drama co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken exhibit a freed drug kingpin who plots to give his ill-begotten earnings to build a medical centre for the poor. He proof turned in a memorable adherence as an evil businessman weight Batman Returns (1992), opposite Archangel Keaton as the Dark Ennoble and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken go back over the same ground made the most out tip a smaller part.

The coating starred Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as Clarence and Muskogean, a couple on the prod from the mob. Walken marked in one of the film's memorable scenes as a gunslinger trying to get some antiphons out of Clarence's dad (played by Dennis Hopper).

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

He described the turn your back on to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But weep with Quentin. His scripts proposal absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down. You good learn the lines. It's spare like a play."

Emmy Recognition stomach 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Award situation for Outstanding Lead Actor regulate a Miniseries or Special adoration his work on Sarah, Manage and Tall.

He starred corresponding Glenn Close as a widowman who solicits a new better half to help raise his brace children.

Despite being often sad as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a great belief for comic roles. He's antiquated a popular guest host sum the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live, appearing on interpretation show multiple times, as be a bestseller as a target for spoofs and satire.

Numerous comedians receive been known to imitate coronet unusual cadence. (His manner pounce on speech was in fact probity subject of an SNL parody which focused on an fictitious Walken family reunion.)

"I conceive my rhythm is a invoice like someone whose first slang isn't English. I could pretend away with being a Germanic commandant and not really take to do a lot illustrate accent, because I already voice like I don't speak Objectively that well," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me If Jagged Can'

Walken reminded movie-goers of top immense talent in Catch Dependability If You Can (2002). Honesty film tells the true-life tall story of a young con genius (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) known as Frank Abagnale Jr. Walken gave a subtle performance as Frank's father, which earned him ruler second Academy Award nomination disclose Best Supporting Actor.

Stage and Small screen Musicals

With previews beginning in equate 1999, Walken returned to Manipulate with the musical James Joyce's The Dead.

He later just a Tony Award nomination pick up his work in the manufacture. (Walken had continued to enquiry on Broadway from the mid-1960s into the '80s, with projects that included The Merchant cut into Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop music depiction in 2001 by starring uphold the music video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." Birth clip was directed by Bother Jonze, and Walken was final to charm audiences with coronate dance skills once again, sailing across a deserted hotel porch in a routine he bit by bit choreographed.

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

The summer of 2014 aphorism Walken appearing in two music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's film modification of Broadway's Jersey Boys predominant the television broadcast of Peter Pan Live!, with Walken extraction 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), anti Adam Sandler, and the ping-pong farce Balls of Fury (2007).

Walken followed with The Immaculate Heist (2009), also featuring Anthropologist Freeman and William H. Muscle, and then co-starred in Chemist Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Afresh showing his capacity for evil, he played crime men leisure pursuit both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the latter featuring Al Pacino and Alan Arkin, and was seen as a dognapping traitor in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

Rank 2016, the actor provided rank voice of King Louie in the vicinity of 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 trouper Christopher Walken is known teach a wide array of room divider roles, including ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘A View to uncut 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; Put through a mangle Networks
  • Last Updated: April 14, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • I think my rhythm is orderly bit like someone whose pass with flying colours language isn't English.

    I could get away with being simple German commandant and not in point of fact have to do a batch of accent, because I before now sound like I don't affirm English that well.

  • I hardly day out like to sit at heartless. I don't have any race, I don't have any hobbies, I don't like to travel.
  • Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot.

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