Christopher Walken is an Academy Award-winning American film and theatre actor. In 1979, Walken won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Deer Hunter, where he played a disturbed Vietnam veteran alongside Robert De Niro. Walken was nominated again in 2002 for Catch Me if You Can. He won the Clarence Derwent Award for his performance in The Lion in Winter in 1966 and an Obie for his 1975 performance in Kid Champion. He has played the main role in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Coriolanus.
Walken, a prolific actor who continues to work non-stop after more than 50 years on stage and screen, has appeared in over 100 movie and television roles, including The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New York, Batman Returns, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Funeral and Catch Me If You Can, and in TV's Kojak and The Naked City. Walken gained a cult following in 90s as the Archangel Gabriel in the first three The Prophecy movies, as well as his frequent guest host appearances on Saturday Night Live. In the United States, his films have grossed over $1.8 billion. He claims that he never turns down a role unless scheduling conflicts, and that he learns something new from every performance.
Walken debuted as a film director and script writer with the short five-minute film Popcorn Shrimp in 2001. He also wrote and acted the main role in a play about Elvis Presley titled Him in 1995.
Walken has attracted a strong cult following as an actor. This may stem from his appearance in genre films, or films by directors with their own cult following such as Abel Ferrara, David Cronenberg, Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino. It may also stem from his odd appearance, quirky mannerisms, and ability to exude menace. Walken is often imitated for his deadpan affect, sudden off-beat pauses, and strange speech rhythm. He has been parodied on Dave the Barbarian by an unusual unicorn named Twinkle. Twinkle has the same speech pattern and menacing deadpan.
This cult status is demonstrated by the frequency of impersonations either by amateurs or other professional actors (notably Kevin Spacey, Kevin Pollak, Jay Mohr, Phil Mondiello, two-time costar Johnny Depp and by Jake Gyllenhaal on the Donnie Darko DVD audio commentary). He is also frequently referenced in various other works of pop culture, such as in the Fountains of Wayne song "Hackensack.
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