Christopher Walken: filmography and best films with the actor (photo)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Christopher Walken, an American actor who prefers to play criminal geniuses, mystical personalities and crazy anti-heroes, has gained a reputation as a cult person not only in his native America, but also far beyond its borders during his career. How did the creative path of the popular artist develop, and what films with his participation were appreciated by fans around the world? This is our article.

Childhood of an actor

Christopher Walken was born in 1943 in the American city of Queens. The real name of the actor is Ronald Walken. The child was named after the famous actor Ronald Colman. The boy's father was a baker, and in the family, in addition to the future actor, two more sons were brought up. The boy's childhood passed in his hometown. As the actor later noted in an interview, he grew up among gypsies, musicians and artists. Already at an early age, he showed his artistic talent. Ronald was engaged in dancing and was fond of theater and cinema. At the age of 10, the boy got a job ata job in a circus where he was not paid anything. Meanwhile, the child performed in various numbers, improving his creative abilities. Walken dreamed of working in television and has been involved in various television shows since childhood. Once on one of these shootings, he met Jerry Lewis, and after that he firmly decided to become an actor. In 1961, the young Walken entered Hofstra University. By the way, his classmate at that time was Liza Minnelli herself. A year later, the young man decided to drop out of school. What the actor has not done in these years! For example, once he happened to work as a lion trainer. But his main goal - acting - remained the meaning of life. For some time he performs on stage, dancing in various musicals and touring the country. It was then, on the advice of a friend, Walken changed his name to a creative pseudonym.

First movie roles

Walken first starred in a theater production of The Lion in Winter in 1966. At the same time, he played the role of Hamlet and Romeo. But Christopher's biggest dream was cinema. At first, he was offered only small roles. The most significant works of this period are the films Division 5-O and Guiding Light. Actor Christopher Walken appears in a big movie in 1969. The first picture in his Hollywood career is the work "Me and my brother." In 1977, after a small role in the film Annie Hall, Walken began to be described as a talented actor. Following this, a new role in the film "The Deer Hunter" brings him an Oscar. Despite the popularity, the main roles are rarely offered to the actor.

World fame

In the 80s and 90s, Christopher Walken continued to actively pursue his own career. He does not refuse almost any role offered to him by the directors, perceiving each work as an invaluable experience. The actor is especially successful in the roles of villains and antiheroes. World fame brought Walken roles in the films "Brainstorm" and "Dead Zone - Dark Zone", in which he plays unbalanced personalities. Despite the growing popularity, during this period the leading roles of the actor are offered very little. A new surge in his career was outlined in the 2000s, when the actor's role expanded. He participates in successful comedy films such as Bear Country and Four Funerals and One Wedding. After his role in Catch Me If You Can, the actor was nominated for an Oscar. Another bright role came in 2007, when Walken starred in the movie Balls of Fury.

Films featuring Christopher Walken

The actor first came to critical attention after appearing on the big screen with a cameo role in Annie Hall (1977). Christopher Walken played the brother of the protagonist, suffering from mental illness. For another role in The Deer Hunters (1978), the actor went on a diet of bananas and rice and lost a lot of weight. For this picture, the actor was awarded the prestigious Oscar. Characters on the verge of a complete loss of reason Walken played in other films: "Dead Zone" (1983), "A View to a Kill" (1985), "King of New York" (1990), "McBain"(1991), "Lone Hero" (1996) and so on. Walken gained a reputation as a cult actor after starring in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994). Later, the actor strengthened his "creepy" role in the works "Prophecy" (1995) and "Sleepy Hollow" (1999). In 2002, Christopher Walken, whose filmography began to expand rapidly, received another Oscar nomination for his role as the unstable father of a con man in Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can.

Films with Christopher Walken of recent years

In recent years, fans of the actor can often see him in comedy films: "Uninvited Guests" (2005), "Man of the Year" (2006). In 2012, Christopher Walken, whose filmography is replenished annually, starred in another comedy - Psychopath Seven with Colin Farrell. According to the actor himself, Christopher almost never rejects the roles offered to him, considering them as a new creative experience. Every year, the actor starred in an average of five films. Without filming, according to Walken, his life becomes completely meaningless. In acting circles, the actor is called a workaholic. However, he does not hide it himself. In his filmography to date, more than 50 works in various films. Today the whole world knows who Christopher Walken is.

Celebrity Personal Life

A talented actor who has played a lot of negative characters and unbalanced personalities, is a very pedantic person in life. According to him, hegets up at the same time, does everything in exactly the same sequence: drinks coffee, does morning exercises, has breakfast, works with scripts. The actor is also stable in relationships with women. For 35 years, Walken has been legally married to the same woman, Georgeanne, a casting director. The actor's real name is used in the family and his wife calls him Ronald.

Some other details of the personal life of a genius are also interesting.

• For example, Christopher Walken is 1 meter 83 centimeters tall, and his eyes naturally have different colors (one is brown, the other is blue).
• Christopher is an excellent cook, he does not use a mobile phone and a computer as a matter of principle.
• It is also fundamental that the actor does not want to have children, because, according to Walker, he simply does not like them. But she loves to watch movies about zombies and is afraid of fast driving.
• Also, the actor doesn't like guns. On set, Walker prefers not to touch guns.

Walken scandals

The actor, known as an exemplary family man in real life, once got into a very unpleasant situation that almost cost him his career. In 1981, he went for a walk with his friends Robert Wagner and his wife, actress Natalie Wood. The girl on this trip died under unclear circumstances. However, the image of a decent person, not involved in any scandals, helped to get rid of unpleasant litigation.

Shooting in music videos

Walken managed to appear in severalmusic videos. In 1993, the actor starred in Madonna's music video for the song Bad Girl, where he brilliantly played the role of the Angel of Death. By the way, just two years later, Christopher had to play a similar role already in the movie, in the film "Prophecy".

In 2001, he took part in the recording of the video clip of the famous English artist Fatboy Slim for his song Weapon of Choice. The video was directed by Spike Jonze. Walker, who was 58 years old at the time of filming, performed his solo dance and also acted as choreographer. In the clip, the actor first dances in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel and then flies up to the ceiling. Classes at the children's dance school were not in vain. The song and video instantly became popular, reaching number 10 on the famous British Singles Chart. In 2001, Walken's video was nominated in nine categories at once, winning six of them, including Best Choreography.

Directorial career

In 2001, Christopher Walken tried his hand as a screenwriter and director with the short film Popcorn Shrimp featuring famous actress Laurel Holloman. Also in 2001, the actor acted as a co-director in the filming of the video for the song Weapon of Choice. In 2012, Walken also became one of the actors actively involved in the creation of the popular computer game Privateer-2.

Awards and prizes

Since 1979, when critics first noted the talent of an aspiring actor, Walken has been nominated for various awards and received awards. In 1979Nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for The Deer Hunter. In the same year, he received an Oscar for this film. Two years later, in 1980, the same film was nominated by the British Academy. In 1984, he was nominated for the Saturn Award as the best actor for the film Dead Zone. In 1991, he participated in the Emmy nomination for Best Actor in the film Sarah, a Tall and Simple Woman. In 1996, Walker was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Male Actor for The Prophecy, and in 2000 for Sleepy Hollow. In 2003, the British Academy won the Best Actor award for Catch Me If You Can. The same film was nominated for an Oscar. In 2008, he was awarded the Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in the film Hairspray.

Conclusion

Today, Christopher Walken, whose photo is presented here, is considered one of the most efficient actors in Hollywood. He is not afraid to change roles, trying himself both in the role of criminal geniuses and in the images of psychopaths and swindlers. Films with his participation in total collected about two billion dollars at the box office. The ominous mystical characters from Sleepy Hollow and The Batman have endeared themselves to millions of fans around the world. Walken, who turned 71 in 2014, is not going to stop there, he is actively filming, delighting the audience with his wonderful game. His recognizability, quoting the phrases of the characters, vivid and imaginative roles are just additional confirmationa high level of professional acting.