Christopher Walken[1] is an American actor, whose career has spanned over 50 years with appearances in theater, film, and television.[2] He has appeared in over 100 movies and television shows, including A View to a Kill, At Close Range, The Deer Hunter, King of New York, Batman Returns, Pulp Fiction, Sleepy Hollow, True Romance, and Catch Me If You Can, as well as music videos by recording artists such as Madonna and Fatboy Slim.
Walken's early career was primarily in theater and television where he often played small roles. During this period of his career, Walken was credited as "Ken Walken" and later as "Ronnie Walken", until he finally settled on "Christopher Walken". He began acting in films in 1969 and, after a series of increasingly larger roles, won an Academy Award in 1978 as Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Deer Hunter. Since then, Walken has become a highly sought-after actor, typically performing in numerous films every year.
Walken has been a primary character in two film franchises: as Gabriel the fallen angel in The Prophecy series, and as Jacob Witting in the made-for-television films based on Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah, Plain and Tall novels. Other notable roles include Johnny Smith in The Dead Zone, Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction, and Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can. He also sings and dances, as seen in some of his films including: Pennies from Heaven, Romance & Cigarettes, and Hairspray.
Film
Following his early (1950s) work in television and theater, Walken has acted primarily in films. This list includes credits in studio films, independent films, animated films, and television films. The list includes the 2001 short five-minute film Popcorn Shrimp which Walken wrote, produced and directed.[3]
Television
In the beginning of his acting career, Walken had relatively small roles in episodes for a number of television shows. This list includes appearances in various episodes of fictional shows, while excluding appearances as himself on talk shows, interview shows, ceremonies, and the like.
| Year | Show | Role | Run |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Wonderful John Acton[III] | Kevin Acton | Recurring character |
| 1954 | The Motorola Television Hour[III] | Episode: "The Muldoon Matter" | |
| 1954–1956 | The Guiding Light | Michael "Mike" Bauer#1 | |
| 1963 | Naked City[III] | Chris Johannis / Brian Trust | 2 episodes |
| 1970 | Hawaii Five-O | Walt Kramer | Episode: "Run, Johnny, Run" |
| 1977 | Kojak | Ben Wiley | Episode: "Kiss It All Goodbye" |
| 1982 | Who Am I This Time? | Harry Nash | Television film |
| 1990–2023 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) / various | 8 episodes |
| 1991 | Sarah, Plain and Tall | Jacob Witting [101] | Television film |
| 1993 | Skylark | Jacob Witting [102] | Television film |
| 1993 | Scam | Jack Shanks | Television film |
| 1999 | Vendetta | James Houston[103] | Television film |
| 1999 | Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End | Jacob Witting [104] | Television film |
| 2003 | Julius Caesar | Cato the Younger[105] | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Turks & Caicos | Curtis Pelissier | Television film |
| 2014 | Peter Pan Live![106] | Captain Hook | Live television special |
| 2021–2024 | The Outlaws | Frank Sheldon | 13 episodes |
| 2022–present | Severance | Burt Goodman | Main role[107] |
^ III Credited as "Ronnie Walken".
Theater
In addition to acting for film and television, Walken has acted in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway theater productions. He has acted in more than 100 additional plays including some by Shakespeare.[108] This list includes the most popular of them.
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | The Climate of Eden[IV] | Berton | Martin Beck Theatre | November 13, 1952 – November 22, 1952 |
| 1958 | The Visit[IV] | Karl Schill | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | May 5, 1958 – July 5, 1958 |
| Morosco Theatre | August 20, 1958 – November 29, 1958 | |||
| J.B.[III] | David[V] | ANTA Playhouse | December 11, 1958 – October 24, 1959 | |
| 1964 | High Spirits[III] | musical ensemble | Alvin Theatre | April 7, 1964 – February 27, 1965 |
| 1965 | Baker Street | One of the Killers | The Broadway Theatre | February 2, 1965 – November 30, 1965 |
| Martin Beck Theatre | November 3, 1965 – November 14, 1965 | |||
| 1966 | The Lion in Winter | Philip Capet (King of France) | Ambassador Theatre | March 3, 1966 – May 21, 1966 |
| The Rose Tattoo | Jack Hunter | Billy Rose Theatre | November 9, 1966 – December 31, 1966 | |
| 1967 | The Unknown Soldier and His Wife | Unknown Soldier | Vivian Beaumont Theater | July 6, 1967 – September 16, 1967 |
| George Abbott Theatre | September 18, 1967 – November 12, 1967 | |||
| 1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | Stratford Shakespeare Festival[109] | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | |||
| 1970 | Lemon Sky[110] | Alan | Playhouse Theatre | May 17–31, 1970 |
| 1972 | Enemies | Sintsov | Vivian Beaumont Theater | November 9, 1972 – December 16, 1972 |
| 1973 | The Plough and the Stars | Jack Clitheroe | January 4, 1973 – February 10, 1973 | |
| The Merchant of Venice | Bassanio | March 1, 1973 – April 7, 1973 | ||
| 1975 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Chance Wayne | Harkness Theatre | December 29, 1975 – February 8, 1976 |
| 1984 | Hurlyburly | Mickey | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | August 7, 1984 – June 2, 1985 |
| 1995 | Him[111] | Elvis Presley, director, writer | New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| 2000 | James Joyce's The Dead | Gabriel Conroy | Belasco Theatre | January 11, 2000 – April 16, 2000 |
| 2001 | The Seagull | Sorin | Delacorte Theater | July 24, 2001 – August 26, 2001[112] |
| 2010 | A Behanding in Spokane | Carmichael | Schoenfeld Theatre | March 4, 2010 – June 6, 2010 |
Video games
- 1996 Ripper as Detective Vince Magnotta
- 1996 Privateer 2: The Darkening as David Hassan
- 2003 True Crime: Streets of LA as Sergeant George[113]
- 2005 True Crime: New York City as Gabriel Whitting[114]
Music videos
- 1993 Madonna – "Bad Girl" as Madonna's Guardian Angel
- 1995 Skid Row – "Breakin' Down" as Gabriel from The Prophecy trilogy[citation needed]
- 2001 Fatboy Slim – "Weapon of Choice" (also co-choreographer)
CD
- 1997 "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe on Closed on Account of Rabies
See also
References
- General
- "Christopher Walken - Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- "Christopher Walken Movie Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- "Christopher Walken (Results Page)". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
- "Christopher Walken at Hollywood.com". Hollywood.com. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- "Saturday Night Live recaps". nbc.com. NBC. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- Specific