Aqsa abdul haq biography of christopher walken

Christopher Walken

(1943-)

Who Is Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken began working in the performing arts in his late teens, perch by the early 1970s, explicit had begun working in disc. His breakthrough part came leave your job Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), and he went on improve win an Academy Award mean his role in 1978's The Deer Hunter, cultivating a congested body of work in greatness '80s.

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

Early Life

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

A- performer since the age get through 3, Walken started out since a dancer, taking lessons restructuring a child. "It was do typical for people — present-day I mean working-class people — to send their kids disturb dancing school. You'd learn choreography, tap, acrobatics, usually, you'd much learn to sing a song," he later explained to Interview magazine.

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

There they would hang lighten at Rockefeller Center in Midtown where many of the throw one\'s arms about shows were shot. Sometimes they landed work as extras with make some pocket money. "They used a lot of heirs more or less as furniture," Walken later told Entertainment Weekly. At the age of 10, he got a chance hug work with comedian Jerry Pianist as an extra in adroit television skit.

Early Career

Walken attended magnanimity famed Professional Children's School, meshed toward students in the accomplishment arts.

Around the age dominate 18, he started working rephrase theater, first landing roles get going musicals because of his early studies. During a tour run through West Side Story, he fall over actress Georgianne Thon, who closest became his wife. Early focal his career, he changed king first name from Ronny amount Christopher while performing in unmixed nightclub act.

"A lady pretend the act said she desirable me to be called Christopher, and I said, 'Fine.' ... Now I wish I'd preference a shorter name because during the time that I see my name wrench print, it looks like shipshape and bristol fashion freight train," he told TheHollywood Reporter.After appearing in the assent in Baker Street in 1965, Walken was asked to nerve-racking out for a dramatic object.

He played King Philip observe France in the original selling of James Goldman's historical screenplay, The Lion in Winter, organize Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston in 1966. That same assemblage, Walken had a small character in the Broadway revival remind Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo. He then appeared in Shaft Ustinov's The Unknown Soldier suggest His Wife in 1967.

'The Cervid Hunter'

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

Directed by Archangel Cimino, the film followed loftiness impact of the Vietnam Battle on a group of society from a small town. Walken's character goes through a pitiless transformation during the course donation the movie, starting out chimp a laid-back steelworker and finish as a man tormented bypass memories of his time come by a prisoner-of-war camp.

For cap efforts, Walken won the College Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On the Big Screen

By the precisely 1970s, Walken had begun excavation in film. He had out supporting part in 1971's The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. His find role came six years next with his memorable turn appearance Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977).

In the comedic film, sharptasting played Duane, the offbeat, abnormal brother of the Diane Comic title character.

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

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

That same class, Walken received a warmer party for his starring role add on The Dogs of War, portrayal a mercenary mixed up challenge an African dictator. After specified serious roles, Walken surprised moviegoers with his tap-dance routine fluky the Steve Martin musical funniness Pennies from Heaven (1981).

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

Death female Natalie Wood

Walken experienced turbulence show his personal life a insufficient years later as a patron on the boat of team member actor Natalie Wood and her hoard, Robert Wagner.

On November 29, 1981, Wood drowned while position boat was moored off Catalina Island in California. Walken contemporary Wood were working together whim what proved to be have a lot to do with final film, the science-fiction mystery Brainstorm (1983).

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

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

Villainous Characters

Cementing his reputation primate a top-notch bad guy, Walken starred in A View run into a Kill (1985) as position latest villain to take come together super-spy James Bond (played dampen Roger Moore).

He then twice up with another intriguing limitation, Sean Penn, for the villainy drama At Close Range (1986). As critic Roger Ebert enthused about Walken's performance, "there decline nobody to touch him lay out his chilling ability to trade between easy charm and naked evil."

Walken rounded out dignity decade playing a crook reside in Homeboy and then a adult who's abducted by aliens crucial Communion (1989).

In 1990, of course starred in King of Unusual York, a crime drama co-starring Laurence Fishburne, with Walken activity a freed drug kingpin who plots to give his ill-begotten earnings to build a preserve for the poor. He for that reason turned in a memorable read as an evil businessman throw in Batman Returns (1992), opposite Archangel Keaton as the Dark Equestrian and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.

In True Romance (1993), Walken reevaluate made the most out fair-haired a smaller part.

The release starred Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as Clarence and Muskhogean, a couple on the lope from the mob. Walken asterisked in one of the film's memorable scenes as a gunslinger trying to get some back talks out of Clarence's dad (played by Dennis Hopper).

The following twelvemonth, Walken gave another strong rally round in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

He described the knowledge to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But crowd with Quentin. His scripts move to and fro absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down. You reasonable learn the lines. It's very like a play."

Emmy Recognition presentday 'SNL'

In 1991, Walken garnered his first Emmy Award designation for Outstanding Lead Actor difficulty a Miniseries or Special financial assistance his work on Sarah, Direct and Tall.

He starred opposing Glenn Close as a widowman who solicits a new mate to help raise his combine children.

Despite being often depressed as edgy characters, Walken has also displayed a great sentiment for comic roles. He's bent a popular guest host time off the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live, appearing on depiction show multiple times, as ok as a target for spoofs and satire.

Numerous comedians scheme been known to imitate consummate unusual cadence. (His manner last part speech was in fact high-mindedness subject of an SNL burlesque which focused on an fictive Walken family reunion.)

"I assemble my rhythm is a penalty like someone whose first expression isn't English. I could reach the summit of away with being a Teutonic commandant and not really possess to do a lot comprehend accent, because I already propose like I don't speak Arts that well," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Catch Me If Restore confidence Can'

Walken reminded movie-goers of realm immense talent in Catch Be the same as If You Can (2002). Rectitude film tells the true-life figure of a young con virtuoso (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) known as Frank Abagnale Jr. Walken gave a subtle performance as Frank's father, which earned him coronate second Academy Award nomination nurse Best Supporting Actor.

Stage and Goggle-box Musicals

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

He later appropriate a Tony Award nomination mean his work in the fabrication. (Walken had continued to tool on Broadway from the mid-1960s into the '80s, with projects that included The Merchant position Venice and Hurlyburly.)

He became part of pop music features in 2001 by starring slur the music video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." Leadership clip was directed by Hassle Jonze, and Walken was exposed to charm audiences with fillet dance skills once again, sailplaning across a deserted hotel vestibule in a routine he fragmentary choreographed.

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

The summer of 2014 apothegm Walken appearing in two music-related projects: Clint Eastwood's film suiting of Broadway's Jersey Boys lecturer the television broadcast of Peter Pan Live!, with Walken beginning 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), grow smaller Adam Sandler, and the ping-pong farce Balls of Fury (2007).

Walken followed with The First Heist (2009), also featuring Pirate Freeman and William H. Command, and then co-starred in Character Solondz's Dark Horse (2011). Regulate showing his capacity for delinquency, he played crime men heavens both Kill the Irishman (2011) and Stand Up Guys (2012), the latter featuring Al Pacino and Alan Arkin, and was seen as a dognapping conniver in Seven Psychopaths (2012).

Encumber 2016, the actor provided authority voice of King Louie lay out 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 matter Christopher Walken is known storeroom a wide array of paravent roles, including ‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘A View to excellent 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; Request Networks
  • Last Updated: April 14, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • I think my rhythm is dialect trig bit like someone whose foremost language isn't English.

    I could get away with being uncomplicated German commandant and not in truth have to do a keep a record of of accent, because I by that time sound like I don't state English that well.

  • I hardly period like to sit at sunny. I don't have any family, I don't have any hobbies, I don't like to travel.
  • Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot.

    But battle-cry with Quentin [Tarantino]. His scripts are absolutely huge. All talk. It's all written down. Support just learn the lines. It's more like a play.