Editing Christopher Walken (section)

{{short description|American actor (born 1943)}}
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{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
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{{Infobox person
| image              = Christopher Walken 2018.jpg
| caption            = Walken in 2018
| birth_name         = Ronald Walken
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1943|3|31}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], U.S.
| alma_mater         = [[Hofstra University]]
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1952–present
| works              = [[Christopher Walken on stage and screen|Full list]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Georgianne Walken|Georgianne Thon]]|1969}}
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken|Full list]]
| signature          = Christopher Walken Signature.png
}}

'''Christopher Walken''' (born '''Ronald Walken'''; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. [[Christopher Walken on stage and screen|His work on stage and screen]] has earned him [[List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken|accolades]] including an [[Academy Award]], a [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award]], a [[Screen Actors Guild Award]], as well as nominations for two [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] and two [[Tony Awards]]. His films have grossed more than $1.6 billion in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christopher Walken Box Office Data|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/person/147990401-Christopher-Walken#tab=summary|access-date=May 1, 2022|publisher=The-Numbers.com|last=Nash|first=Bruce}}</ref> 

Walken has appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''[[The Anderson Tapes]]'' (1971), ''[[Next Stop, Greenwich Village]]'' (1976), ''[[Roseland (film)|Roseland]]'' (1977) and ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977), before coming to wider attention as the troubled [[Vietnam War]] veteran Nick Chevotarevich in ''[[The Deer Hunter]]'' (1978). His performance earned him an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]. He was nominated for the same award for portraying con artist [[Frank Abagnale]]'s father in [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'' (2002).

Since his [[Breakthrough role|breakthrough]], Walken has appeared in films in various genres, both in lead and supporting roles.<ref>{{cite news |author=07.39 EDT |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2009/may/01/film-character-actors |title=Cinema's unforgettable character actors &#124; Film |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202100316/https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2009/may/01/film-character-actors |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> These include ''[[The Dogs of War (film)|The Dogs of War]]'' (1980), ''[[Brainstorm (1983 film)|Brainstorm]]'' (1983), ''[[The Dead Zone (film)|The Dead Zone]]'' (1983), ''[[A View to a Kill]]'' (1985), ''[[At Close Range]]'' (1986), ''[[Biloxi Blues (film)|Biloxi Blues]]'' (1988), ''[[King of New York]]'' (1990), ''[[The Comfort of Strangers (film)|The Comfort of Strangers]]'' (1990), ''[[Batman Returns]]'' (1992), ''[[True Romance]]'' (1993), ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' (1994), ''[[The Prophecy]]'' (1995, and [[The Prophecy (film series)|its two sequels]]), ''[[Suicide Kings]]'' (1997), ''[[Sleepy Hollow (film)|Sleepy Hollow]]'' (1999), ''[[Man on Fire (2004 film)|Man on Fire]]'' (2004), ''[[Wedding Crashers]]'' (2005), ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' (2007), ''[[Seven Psychopaths]]'' (2012), ''[[A Late Quartet]]'' (2012), ''[[Percy (2020 film)|Percy]]'' (2020), and ''[[Dune: Part Two]]'' (2024). He has also provided voice work for the [[animated films]] ''[[Antz]]'' (1998) and ''[[The Jungle Book (2016 film)|The Jungle Book]]'' (2016).

On television, Walken has appeared in films such as ''[[Who Am I This Time? (film)|Who Am I This Time?]]'' (1982), and ''[[Sarah, Plain and Tall (film)|Sarah, Plain and Tall]]'' (1991), for which he received a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award]] nomination. More recently, he has starred in television series ''[[The Outlaws (2021 TV series)|The Outlaws]]'' (2021–), and ''[[Severance (TV series)|Severance]]'' (2022–), the latter of which earned him a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series]] nomination. He has guest-hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' seven times. His roles on the show include record producer Bruce Dickinson in the "[[More Cowbell]]" sketch, the disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus, and multiple appearances as an aging, unsuccessful [[lothario]] in the [[The Continental (Saturday Night Live)|Continental]] sketch.

As a stage actor, Walken starred with Irene Worth in a 1975 Broadway revival of ''Sweet Bird of Youth''. Walken has played the lead in the [[Shakespeare]] plays ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Macbeth]]'', ''[[Romeo and Juliet]],''  and ''[[Coriolanus (play)|Coriolanus]]''. His performance in the original rendition of ''[[James Joyce's The Dead]]'' (2000), earned him a [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical]] nomination. He was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play]] for his role in [[Martin McDonagh]]'s ''[[A Behanding in Spokane]]'' (2010). He also wrote and played the lead role in the 1995 play ''[[Him (Walken play)|Him]]'', about his idol [[Elvis Presley]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Him by Christopher Walken |author=Michael Feingold |work=The Village Voice |url=http://www.celebratingchristopherwalken.com/him_review.htm |access-date=March 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626102218/http://www.celebratingchristopherwalken.com/him_review.htm |archive-date=June 26, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>