dekker

Christopher Walken is one of my favorite actors. My favorite films of his are The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, At Close Range, King of New York and of course True Romance for THAT scene with Dennis Hopper. I also acknowledge that he's appeared in a high number of films, some of which have been dire eg. Envy, Balls of Fury and The Stepford Wives.

I have also liked him on SNL. What do you think?

Lt Ripley

"Hello, little man. Boy, I sure heard a bunch about you. See, I was a good friend of your dad's. We were in that Hanoi pit of hell together for over five years. Hopefully, you'll never have to experience this yourself, but when two men are in a situation like me and your dad were, for as long as we were, you take on certain responsibilities of the other. If it had been me who had not made it, Major Coolidge would be talking right now to my son Jim. But the way it turned out is I'm talking to you, Butch. I got something for ya. This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first world war. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee, made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up until then, people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by Private Doughboy Ryan Coolidge the day he set sail for Paris. This was your great-grandfather's war watch, and he wore it every day he was in the war. Then when he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch off and put it in an old coffee can. And in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War Two. Your great-grandfather gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed along with all the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, and he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport named Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he had never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your granddad was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch that it'd be confiscated; taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. And then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you."


I was laughing so hard the first time I saw that scene. Nobody else could have pulled it off as well as Walken.

Charlie Goose

He's a great actor who really likes to work. I do wish he'd turn some stuff down.

dekker

That's my feeling- a little bit of quality control there Chris.

Dan

What was his last true "leading" role? I've mostly only seen him in supporting/cameo roles.

Mr. Goose above is right; he's a great actor who really likes to work. It's just too bad that he sometimes gets involved in the absolute worst of the worst. Kangaroo Jack, anyone?

Jaymole

A great product that needs more quality control.

majorjoe23

Given Tarrantino's penchant for the same actors and how well he delivered the watch speech, I'm surprised he hasn't used Walken again.

Solid Snake

This.

I admire that he likes to work a lot. That's fine and dandy. I do wish he'd be more picky about it.

TomOpus

...fixed

Troy Stiffler

Yea. Whatever happened there? Tarantino seems to write in characters for whoever he can. No Walken, no Buscemi, Ving Rhames, etc. Some memorable faces that only ever showed up in the Tarantinoverse one time.

Because he has such a unique presence, he'll always be Christopher Walken in a movie (or dancing for Fatboy Slim or whatever). But I love the guy. He's even the gleam of light in movies like Joe Dirt.

OldBoy

it's good.

Michael Corvin

Holy shit. I've never seen that in typed form before. That's a lot of fucking dialog. Walken made it seem so effortless and it really makes you appreciate the scene even more.

Why So Blu?

He should have been nominated for an Oscar for his role in Seven Psychopaths.

Dr Mabuse

It's about his father. His father was one of those men who worked all the time to make good for the family. Like worked ALL the time. Chris grew up in his shadow and it affected him in a big way.

He feels he needs to be working all the time, for obvious and probably deep-seated reasons. So he works to try and be like the old man, which is a powerful motivation.

He will take what parts are offered to keep working.

Solid Snake

Has he said that before?

Osiris3657

IIG

And even worse, in my opinion, is the lack of Tim Roth! After doing a wonderful job in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction (and Four Rooms if you want to count that), the guy got no love at all.

Christopher Walken is one of the best character actors alive. I don't understand why the big name directors don't reach out to him more. Despite hearing some bad things about the film, I can't wait to see him on screen with Pacino and Alda in Stand Up Guys later this year.

PopcornTreeCt

I think when Tarantino returns back to that LA universe he will use those actors again.

inri222

Walken is a great actor who now goes through the motions for a paycheck.

* Except when he actually has a good script & direction.

Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel (1998) which I happen to like alot even though there are plenty of people who despise it.


Those guys are not cool anymore. And by the way Steve Buscemi was not a one timer, he was also in Pulp Fiction.

Dr Mabuse

Yeah. That's how I knew.

He went pretty in depth on that in an interview I saw with him, where the question was basically posed asking why a heavyweight Oscar winner with lots of respect for his skill does movies like 'Prophecy' and the like. He explained he has to work, he is an actor and he will work as an actor. If there is no heavyweight part offered in some A list film, he takes what is offered, because he has to work like his dad taught him and did.

Supermallet

He doesn't always go through the motions. Seven Psychopaths had a brilliant performance by Walken.

inri222

I forgot to add : Except when he actually has a good script & direction.

dekker

Walken was great in a move called Suicide Kings. He spends most of the film taped to a chair and he's still menacing.

Osiris3657

Don't know how reliable IMDb's trivia section is, but according to it:

"In his 35 years in film, he has acted in well over 90 films. He rarely turns down a part, under the belief that making movies (whether they turn out good or bad) is always a rewarding experience."

dekker

I'm pretty sure that's accurate. He always seems to be in at least two or three films a year.