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Christopher Walken biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Christopher Walken
  • OCCUPATION: Actor
  • BIRTH DATE: March 31, 1943 (Age: 70)
  • EDUCATION: Professional Children's School
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Queens, New York
  • Originally: Ronald Walken
  • AKA: Ronny Walken
  • AKA: Ronnie Walken
  • AKA: Christopher Walken
  • ZODIAC SIGN: Aries

Best Known For

Film Actor Christopher Walken often plays the bad guy, but he has also proved himself in comic roles and has been a repeat guest on Saturday Night Live.

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The film starred Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as Clarence and Alabama, a couple on the run from the mob. Walken starred in one of the film's memorable scenes as a mob hitman trying to get some answers out of Clarence's dad (played by Dennis Hopper). The following year,

Walken gave another strong performance in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994). He described the experience to Esquire magazine, saying, "Movie scripts are usually pretty loose—things change a lot. But not with Quentin. His scripts are absolutely huge. All dialogue. It's all written down. You just learn the lines. It's more like a play."

Recent Work

Known to work constantly, Christopher Walken takes on all sorts of films. He explored the horror genre with the The Prophecy trilogy, playing the archangel Gabriel. Over the years, however, Walken has appeared in more than his fair share of duds, such as the crime drama Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995); the low-brow comedy Joe Dirt (2001); and the family friendly flop The Country Bears (2002). Explaining the motivation behind taking parts in so many projects, Walken said, "I hardly ever like to sit at home. I don't have any children, I don't have any hobbies, I don't like to travel."

In 1999, Walken returned to Broadway with the musical James Joyce's The Dead. He earned a Tony Award nomination for his work in the production. He again reminded movie-goers of his immense talent two years later in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002). The film tells the true-life story of a young con artist (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) named Frank Abagnale, Jr. Walken gave a subtle performance as Frank's father, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Walken has also appeared in a broad range of movies in recent years. He played roles in such comedies as the box-office hit Wedding Crashers (2005); Click with Adam Sandler; and The Maiden Heist (2009), featuring Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy. In 2010, Walken appeared on Broadway in the Martin McDonagh comedy A Behanding in Spokane.

When he is not on stage or on set, Walken lives in Wilton, Connecticut, with his wife.

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