Biography

Christopher Walken has been entertaining for half a century. Whether he's deliciously sinister or campily comic, Walken delights us -- and keeps impressionists busy -- with his unorthodox style1
Having once described himself as "the malevolent WASP," Walken began his career as a chorus boy on the New York stage before eventually landing memorably creepy film parts -- like that of Diane Keaton's brother in Annie Hall (1977) -- that set the tone for the quirky, menacing roles to come.

Walken first big success came with Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978), winning an Academy Awar® for Best Supporting actor for the Oscar®-winning film. (Unfortunately, this was followed with a role in Cimino's ill-fated Heaven's Gate (1980).) Then followed a series of roles where he exercised his penchant for playing unstable characters: a tap dancing pimp in Pennies From Heaven (1981); a reluctant telepath in The Dead Zone (1983); a brutal father and murderer in At Close Range (1986); and as Max Zorin in A View to a Kill (1985) he became the only Oscar®-winning actor to portray 007's nemesis.

He followed these up with diverse parts in Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues (1988), the title role in the violent King of New York (1990) and villain Max Shreck in Batman Returns (1992). Walken was then scary yet again as a vampire in The Addiction (1995) and in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted True Romance (1993). As a director, Tarantino used Walken to good effect in Pulp Fiction (1994) where he played brief but memorable role as the persistent Captain Koons.

Walken has kept busy in the last decade, and audiences can hear his voice in Antz (1998), and see him in sweet comedies like Blast From the Past (1999) or on familiar ground in dark films like Sleepy Hollow (1999). He also dazzled the MTV generation in Madonna videos ("Bad Girl") and especially as the surreally Terpsichorean businessman in the Fatboy Slim video for "Weapon of Choice" -- for which Walken won an MTV Music Award for his singular choreography (2001). (Dancing is so close to Walken's heart he inserts a little fancy footwork into every film he's in.)

Now in his fifitieth year in show business, Walken will likely continue to delight television viewers (he's in "Saturday Night Live's" prestigious "Five Timers Club") and moviegoers for years to come.

Filmography

Helldorado (2003) .... Hatcher
Gigli (2003) .... Jacobellis
Envy (2003)
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
"Julius Caesar" (2002) (mini) TV Series .... Marcus Cato
Catch Me If You Can (2002) .... Frank Abagnale
Best Ever Bond (2002) (TV)(uncredited) (archive footage) .... Max Zorin
Plots with a View (2002) .... Frank Featherbed
... aka Plotz with a View (2002) (UK)
Engine Trouble (2002/II) .... Rusty
Country Bears, The (2002) .... Reed Thimple
Poolhall Junkies (2002) .... Mike
Jungle Juice (2001) .... Roy
Papp Project, The (2001) .... Himself
Affair of the Necklace, The (2001) .... Cagliostro
Chelsea Walls (2001)
... aka Chelsea Hotel (2001)
MTV Video Music Awards 2001 (2001) (TV) .... Himself (presenter)
America's Sweethearts (2001) .... Hal Weidmann
Joe Dirt (2001) .... Clem
Scotland, Pa. (2001) .... Lieutenant McDuff
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend (2000) (V) .... Himself/The Hessian Horseman
Opportunists, The (2000) .... Victor Kelly
Prophecy 3: The Ascent, The (2000) (V) .... Gabriel
... aka God's Army III (2000) (V) (Europe: video title English title)
Cast and Crew (1999) (V)
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Kiss Toledo Goodbye (1999) .... Max
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999) (TV) .... Jacob Witting
Sleepy Hollow (1999) .... The Hessian Horseman
Madonna: The Video Collection 93:99 (1999) (V) .... Guardian Angel (segment "Bad Girl")
Vendetta (1999/I) (TV) .... James Houston
Blast from the Past (1999) .... Calvin Webber
New Rose Hotel (1998) .... Fox
Antz (1998)(voice) .... Colonel Cutter
Trance (1998) .... Uncle Bill Ferriter
... aka Eternal, The (1999) (USA: video title)
... aka Eternal: Kiss of the Mummy, The (1999) (USA: video box title)
Illuminata (1998) .... Bevalaqua
... aka Illuminata (1998) (Spain)
Prophecy II, The (1998) (V) .... Gabriel
... aka God's Army II (1998) (V) (Europe: video title English title)
Mouse Hunt (1997) .... Caeser, the Exterminator
Suicide Kings (1997) .... Carlo Bartolucci/Charlie Barret
Excess Baggage (1997) .... Raymond 'Ray' Perkins
Touch (1997/I) .... Bill Hill
Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996) (VG) .... David Hassan
Ripper (1996) (VG) .... Det. Vince Magnotta
Last Man Standing (1996) .... Hickey
Funeral, The (1996) .... Ray
Basquiat (1996) .... The Interviewer
... aka Build a Fort, Set It on Fire (1996)
Celluloide (1996)
Nick of Time (1995) .... Mr. Smith
Addiction, The (1995) .... Peina
Prophecy, The (1995) .... Gabriel
... aka God's Army (1995) (Europe: English title)
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) .... The Man With The Plan
Search and Destroy (1995) .... Kim Ulander
... aka Four Rules, The (1995) (Australia: video title)
Wild Side (1995) .... Bruno Buckingham
Pulp Fiction (1994) .... Captain Koons
Business Affair, A (1994) .... Vanni Corso
... aka Astucias de mujer (1994) (Spain)
... aka D'une femme à l'autre (1994) (France)
... aka Liebe und andere Geschäfte (1994) (Germany)
Wayne's World 2 (1993) .... Bobby Cahn
True Romance (1993) .... Vincenzo Coccotti
Scam (1993) (TV) .... Jack Shanks
Skylark (1993) (TV) .... Jacob Witting
... aka Sarah, Plain and Tall: Skylark (1993) (TV) (USA)
All-American Murder (1992) (V) .... P.J. Decker
Grand pardon II, Le (1992) .... Pasco Meisner
... aka Day of Atonement (1992)
Batman Returns (1992) .... Max Shreck
Mistress (1992) .... Warren Zell
McBain (1991) .... McBain
Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) (TV) .... Jacob Witting
Comfort of Strangers, The (1990) .... Robert
... aka Cortesie per gli ospiti (1990) (Italy)
King of New York (1990) .... Frank White
Communion (1989) .... Whitley Strieber
Cannon Movie Tales: Puss in Boots (1988) .... Puss
Homeboy (1988) .... Wesley Pendergass
Biloxi Blues (1988) .... Sgt. Toomey
... aka Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues (1988)
Milagro Beanfield War, The (1988) .... Kyril Montana
Deadline (1987) .... Don Stevens
... aka Witness in the War Zone (1987) (International: English title)
At Close Range (1986) .... Brad Whitewood Sr.
View to a Kill, A (1985) .... Maximillion 'Max' Zorin
Dead Zone, The (1983) .... Johnny Smith
Brainstorm (1983) .... Dr. Michael Anthony Brace
Who Am I This Time? (1982) (TV) .... Harry Nash
Shoot the Sun Down (1981) .... Mr. Rainbow
Pennies from Heaven (1981) .... Tom
Dogs of War, The (1980) .... Shannon
Heaven's Gate (1980) .... Nathan D. Champion
... aka Johnson County Wars (1980)
Last Embrace (1979) .... Eckart
Deer Hunter, The (1978) .... Nick
Roseland (1977) .... Russel
Annie Hall (1977) .... Duane Hall
Sentinel, The (1977) .... Detective Rizzo
Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)(as Chris Walken) .... Robert
Valley Forge (1974) (TV)
Happiness Cage, The (1972) .... Pvt. James H. Reese
... aka Demon Within, The (1972)
... aka Mind Snatchers, The (1972)
Anderson Tapes, The (1971) .... The Kid
Three Musketeers, The (1969) (TV) .... Felton
Me and My Brother (1968)
Barefoot in Athens (1966) (TV)
... aka George Schaefer's Showcase Theatre: Barefoot in Athens (1966) (TV) (USA: series title)
"Wonderful John Acton, The" (1953) TV Series(as Ronnie Walken) .... Kevin Acton