Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March , ) is an American
actor, singer, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and dancer,
who has appeared in more than films and television programs,
including Annie Hall (), The Deer Hunter (), The Dogs of War (), The
Dead Zone (), A View to a Kill (), King of New York (), Batman Returns
(), True Romance (), Pulp Fiction (), Antz (), Vendetta (), Sleepy
Hollow (), Joe Dirt (), Catch Me If You Can (), Click (), Hairspray
(), Seven Psychopaths (), the first three Prophecy films, The Jungle
Book (), and Irreplaceable You (). He has received a number of awards
and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for The Deer Hunter. He was nominated for the same award and won BAFTA
and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Catch Me If You Can. His films have
grossed more than $ billion in the United States.Walken has also
played the lead in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and
Juliet, and Coriolanus. He is a popular guest-host of Saturday Night
Live, hosting seven times. His most notable roles on the show include
record producer Bruce Dickinson in the "More Cowbell" sketch; the
disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus; and multiple appearances
in the Continental sketch. He has also appeared in Hallmark Hall of
Fame's Sarah, Plain and Tall (), which earned him a Primetime Emmy
Award nomination.Walken debuted as a film director and screenwriter
with the short film Popcorn Shrimp. He also wrote and played the lead
role in the play Him about his idol Elvis Presley.Walken was born
Ronald Walken on March , , in Astoria, New York, the son of Rosalie
Russell (May , â€" March , ), a Scottish immigrant from Glasgow, and
Paul Wälken (October , â€" February , ), a German immigrant from
Gelsenkirchen who owned and operated Walken's Bakery in Astoria.
Walken was named after actor Ronald Colman. He was raised Methodist.
He and his brothers, Kenneth and Glenn, were child actors on
television in the s, influenced by their mother's dreams of stardom.
When he was , a girlfriend showed him a magazine photo of Elvis
Presley, and Walken later said, "This guy looked like a Greek god.
Then I saw him on television. I loved everything about him." He
changed his hairstyle to imitate Presley and has not changed it since.
As a teenager, he worked as a lion-tamer in a circus. He attended
Hofstra University but dropped out after one year, having gotten the
role of Clayton Dutch Miller in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot
Forward alongside Liza Minnelli. Walken initially trained as a dancer
at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to dramatic stage
roles and then film.
actor, singer, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and dancer,
who has appeared in more than films and television programs,
including Annie Hall (), The Deer Hunter (), The Dogs of War (), The
Dead Zone (), A View to a Kill (), King of New York (), Batman Returns
(), True Romance (), Pulp Fiction (), Antz (), Vendetta (), Sleepy
Hollow (), Joe Dirt (), Catch Me If You Can (), Click (), Hairspray
(), Seven Psychopaths (), the first three Prophecy films, The Jungle
Book (), and Irreplaceable You (). He has received a number of awards
and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for The Deer Hunter. He was nominated for the same award and won BAFTA
and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Catch Me If You Can. His films have
grossed more than $ billion in the United States.Walken has also
played the lead in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and
Juliet, and Coriolanus. He is a popular guest-host of Saturday Night
Live, hosting seven times. His most notable roles on the show include
record producer Bruce Dickinson in the "More Cowbell" sketch; the
disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus; and multiple appearances
in the Continental sketch. He has also appeared in Hallmark Hall of
Fame's Sarah, Plain and Tall (), which earned him a Primetime Emmy
Award nomination.Walken debuted as a film director and screenwriter
with the short film Popcorn Shrimp. He also wrote and played the lead
role in the play Him about his idol Elvis Presley.Walken was born
Ronald Walken on March , , in Astoria, New York, the son of Rosalie
Russell (May , â€" March , ), a Scottish immigrant from Glasgow, and
Paul Wälken (October , â€" February , ), a German immigrant from
Gelsenkirchen who owned and operated Walken's Bakery in Astoria.
Walken was named after actor Ronald Colman. He was raised Methodist.
He and his brothers, Kenneth and Glenn, were child actors on
television in the s, influenced by their mother's dreams of stardom.
When he was , a girlfriend showed him a magazine photo of Elvis
Presley, and Walken later said, "This guy looked like a Greek god.
Then I saw him on television. I loved everything about him." He
changed his hairstyle to imitate Presley and has not changed it since.
As a teenager, he worked as a lion-tamer in a circus. He attended
Hofstra University but dropped out after one year, having gotten the
role of Clayton Dutch Miller in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot
Forward alongside Liza Minnelli. Walken initially trained as a dancer
at the Washington Dance Studio before moving on to dramatic stage
roles and then film.
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