I think you are taking a few leaps here.

First, DeNiro has been in Rocky and Bullwinkle and scads of other films that are at the caliber of Blast From the Past (which again, was a wonderful performance by Walken). DeNiro probably has as many bad film choices as Walken.

Second, I think you are implying that Walken has passed over plum roles to take poor roles and I don't know where you make that assumption. Do you think he as avoided star-making turns intentionally? On what evidence do you base this position?

I think Hollywood does not see Walken as an A-list star, but as I have described above, as a co-star at best and a character actor at worst. As such, the Hoffman, DeNiro and Nicholson roles are not offered to him. Just because we, the "discerning cinemaphiles" recognize Walken for a great actor does not mean that Hollywood sees him as such (Hence Freddie Prinze, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, etc).

I'm sorry we don't see more of Walkens talent, but I think you are wrong to place the blame for it on the actor...The producers and the studios give him the vehicles they feel he can sell...they limit his potential, not him.

In the case with DeNiro, you have to consider that his first six years as a high-profile actor was spent making films that mattered. Films that catapulted the name "Robert DeNiro" from mere actor to celebrated super actor. Of course, after six years of top-grossing pictures and award nominations, he may have changed gears in the 80's after "Raging Bull" but has still done okay with films in the 80's like "The King of Comedy," "The Untouchables" and "Midnight Run."
Nowadays, people are wondering what DeNiro is doing with certain films he's done in the 90's and this decade - are you telling me that these are the only roles he's given? Rather, I believe he is choosing his scripts. For better or worse.

I recently watched Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio" with Johnny Depp as guest. Much like Christopher Walken, Depp has starred in some unlikely films that do not garner much attention. Host James Lipton asked Depp why. Depp answered: "Stupidity." But then he went on and explained that the films he's chosen to do meant something to him, regardless if he thought the project would be a money-maker or not.

I don't believe for a second that Walken has not been given the opportunity to star in high-profile projects, but instead has chosen film roles that meant something to him.

Clearly you don't believe that (as you have expressed in previous posts). But you don't have any evidence as to what high-profile projects he has rejected, and you don't address my theories why Hollywood has not seen him as a "leading man".

Johnny Depp, while he may not have gone the Tom Cruise route of superstar, consistently gets top billing in his films and is the leading actor, even if the projects he chooses are offbeat and have a personal appeal.

Taking something Johnny Depp has said and using that as your basis for why Christopher Walken has not shown up on A-list films is questionable. My posts are chock-full of theories and observations as to why he may be viewed as a co-star, supporting actor and not as "star" material.

I totally agree. I love A VIEW TO A KILL just for his performance.

You take Jones out, the babe out, give Roger Moore some life, you got a classic Bond.

I'm not a close, personal friend of Christopher Walken, sorry to say, so I can't say what roles he has turned down. But you hear things sometimes about actors turning down star-making roles (like James Caan turning down the character Jack Nichsolson played in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"). Walken could have done this, although I don't recall any stories.

I brought up the example of Johnny Depp because it does pertain to what I was saying about Walken choosing or refusing film roles. I chose to use an example to help explain my theory.

Lastly, Walken has been more than a co-star or a character-actor. He got top billing in "The Dead Zone," "The King of New York," "Brain-something" with Louise Fletcher, and "The Prophecy." And yes, he chose those films. Actors and their agents look through many screenplays before deciding on something the actor is willing to do.

Have you SEEN Christopher Walken? He's a great actor, but he's not the kind of guy (looks or style) who will draw enough people in to be a 20 million dollar man. He's probably not even Lee Majors. Doesn't matter, as he's definitely up there as one of the top 20 character actors and he works steady in both big and small pictures. What more can you ask for? Frankly, it might suck if Walken were pigeonholed as a leading man. Chances are the studios would not let him play the crazies and off-kilter roles when they spent $20 million on him.