The one animal Christopher Walken wants to be reincarnated as: “I’m not sure you could do better”
It’s no secret that Hollywood is a tough business, and most actors who are lucky enough to become A-listers are constantly weighing up the good with the bad. Even Christopher Walken.
As someone who has proved their significance in the game time and time again, you wouldn’t think that Walken struggles to appreciate or praise his own work. You’d think that, as someone who has won several major awards, Walken is about as self-assured as you could get, despite the constant criticism and scrutiny that comes with a life in Hollywood’s brutal spotlight.
However, as with most actors of his calibre, that isn’t the case at all. In fact, Walken knows better than anyone what it’s like to be a part of something you care about, only to look back after the fact and wonder what he could have done differently. Even when there are some scenes in movies that he enjoys, more often than not, there are ones he can’t help but pick apart, too.
As he reflected way back in 2013 to The Talks, complete satisfaction as an actor is a myth, mainly because, whenever he works on a film, even ones as high-end as he has, there are always moments of hit or miss. “For me, in movies, it’s always a mixed bag. I’ve never made a movie where I thought, ‘You were really good in that movie; you were good all the time,’” he said. “No. It’s always, ‘You didn’t get it, you didn’t do it in that scene, but the other scene is pretty good.’”
Obviously, it’s all about that balance, and Walken can often overlook those minor moments of dissatisfaction if the other ones are good enough. But it’s all part and parcel of mild imposter syndrome when you’re one of the biggest and most familiar faces in the industry. It also says a lot that most of his peers only have good words to say, some of them even coming from other industry disruptors like Steven Spielberg, who once praised Walken for his ability to provide variation in his acting, giving Spielberg choices through different takes, rather than opting for the same approach every single time.
All things considered, however, Walken isn’t immune to the negative aspects of the industry, which probably explains why, most of the time, he keeps to himself. At home, it was just him, his wife, and his kids. Except, in this scenario, kids means cats. Walken discussed his cats, Flapjack and Bowtie, in previous interviews, expressing a deep love for cats and an appreciation for their way of life. So much so that, if reincarnation were real, he’d want to be one in the next life.
“My cats are extremely well taken care of,” he told Parade in 2016. “Frankly, if there’s such a thing as reincarnation, it would be wonderful to come back as my cat: Living where it lives, being taken care of by me and my wife, I’m not sure you could do better than that.”
There’s something weirdly prophetic about Walken’s statement, especially when you consider all of the characteristics usually associated with cats – independent, enigmatic, loyal when it’s earned, resilient, a little self-assured in their position as societal rejects – and how Walken carved out his own niche in Hollywood. He’s a little feline-like in his demeanour too, a little stare-y in his roles, mysterious in ways that can be easily read as trustworthy or completely off-kilter, which is also why he likes to say it’s his birthday when it’s not, and if that isn’t a cat-like gesture, then nothing is.
Perhaps that’s what makes him the ideal actor, though, whether it’s a conniving villain or your everyday family man. There’s a versatility there that emerges from his own confidence, even if it wanes from time to time. And it makes sense, too, why someone who has seen the best and worst of a system like Hollywood would one day wish for a calmer life where there’s no such thing as roles or responsibilities.
