The other day marks 76 years to Christopher Walken, one of the most recognizable actors of our time, who became famous thanks to the bright supporting roles. On the account of the star, participation in dozens of blockbusters and more serious works that brought him the Oscar statuette. In honor of the actor’s birthday, we suggest you find out ten interesting facts from his biography.
He conquered television with his brothers
Christopher Walken grew up in a less prosperous area of New York called Queens, in a family belonging to the working class. Nevertheless, the mother of the future actor from childhood tried to launch the career of Christopher and his two brothers in show business. The boys were busy dancing and often auditions for a variety of television shows. Even before the advent of international popularity, Walken managed to appear on the screen along with such stars as Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. The actor himself noted that at the time of the advent of television, sending their children to numerous auditions was a common practice for New York families.
Worked as a lion tamer
At sixteen, Christopher worked as a lion tamer in one of the local circuses for the whole summer. The actor himself in an interview stated that he was rather an assistant to a real tamer and directly worked on stage only with a very old and obedient lioness, whom he managed to attach to in three months as a pet.
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Nickname History
The real name of the actor is Ronald, friends and relatives call him Ronnie. During his dance career, Walken performed under his real name, but the owner of a nightclub, where the future actor worked as part of a trio, loved to represent dancers with fictitious names every night. The combination of the name Christopher and the last name was so liked by the actor that he decided to take a pseudonym.
Work with Madonna
The most famous video clip with the participation of the actor was Weapon of Choice from the group Fatboy Slim and director Spike Jones, but do not forget about his work with pop star Madonna. In 1992, Christopher Walken appeared in the video for a new star song called Bad Girl.
Manner of speech
Russian-speaking viewers may not be aware of this characteristic trait of an actor due to the dubbing of films with his participation, but for the English-speaking audience Walken is known for much thanks to his unusual manner of speech, which is unique and recognizable from the first words. Because of this, Christopher is often parodied by other Hollywood celebrities. The actor himself stated that his manner of speech was the result of his childhood in Queens, where he lived among many immigrants for whom English was not his native language. In particular, the father of the actor until adulthood spoke only German.
Attraction Leader
Christopher Walken extremely rarely refuses projects, even if this is the role of the leading one of the attractions of the theme park of the Hollywood studio Universal. For many years, the actor’s hologram accompanied visitors to the attraction called Catastrophe, which demonstrated the cinematic tricks that are used to create studio blockbusters. In 2015, a thematic attraction based on the Fast and the Furious series of films was opened on the site of the Holocaust.
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Presidential race
In 2005, on the Internet, actor’s fans began to seriously discuss the possibility of Walken's nomination for US presidency. This happened thanks to the appearance of the site, which was dedicated to Christopher's campaign in 2008. Representatives of the star officially denied their intention to run and called the creation of the site an unsuccessful joke or initiative of an active fan. Walken himself at one of the evening talk shows jokingly stated that he liked the idea and, if the public wants, he is ready to go to the presidency. Christopher called the campaign slogan a call to abolish all zoos in the country.
A play about Elvis
Christopher from childhood was a huge fan of Elvis Presley and as an adult used all his knowledge about the singer to create a play about his life. In addition to writing the text, Walken also acted as a director and played one of the roles in the play. For the role of Elvis himself, he took the identical twin brother of the musician. Many theories about the death of the King appeared in the play. The performance did not last too long and was closed due to terrible reviews.
Show idea from Marlon Brando
Toward the end of his life, the legendary Hollywood actor Marlon Brando was known not so much for his roles in the movie, but because of various strange antics and scandals. According to Walken, he was not personally acquainted with a colleague, but this did not stop Brando from calling Christopher and telling about the idea of a music show. According to the idea of the actor, he would act as the host of the program, which would be shot at his home. Guests of the program, among other things, would perform dances with Marlon. Walken did not understand what his participation in the show, which had never been put into production, should have been.
