The Christopher Walken performance inspired by Mick Jagger: “I think that’s a wonderful quality”
There are certain celebrities that most impressionists have in their canon, one of which is almost definitely Christopher Walken.
Thanks to his unusual speech pattern and timbre, he’s almost instantly recognisable: we can try it now if you like, just begin by saying something that starts with ‘You knowww….’ And make it short. Like this. Then put EMPHASIS on a WORD and finish the sentence like a question? That’s a passable Christopher Walken.
And people have been doing their best Walkens now for 50 years, because he has been at the very top for that long; sometimes not spoken about in the same breath as Al Pacino or Robert De Niro due to his often playing supporting roles, but he really should be, because his CV is up there with any actor to have ever done it.
I personally arrived at The Deer Hunter late, much later than I should have done, but I was staggered by it. I was also staggered by the number of people who had never watched it once I’d run around going ‘Who has seen The Deer Hunter?’ for weeks afterwards, but it is nothing less than an astonishing piece of work.
Not only does the Vietnam epic have one of the most engrossing (and lengthy) opening sequences in history, it also features early performances from actors who went on to become all-time greats, and you can see why, because even among Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep, Walken, who is probably the stand-out, even in such esteemed company.
It won him his one and only Oscar, for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, and criminally, he had to wait another 24 years until he was nominated for another one, which came thanks to the 2002 Steven Spielberg comedy Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
Walken played DiCaprio’s father in the real-life tale of Frank Abagnale Jr, a plucky teen who managed to trick his way to millions of dollars while posing as an airline pilot, a doctor and even a criminal lawyer. It was a big hit for Spielberg, grossing $350million against a budget of $50m, and the film was nominated for two Oscars, including Walken’s shout.
And the veteran actor had his own influences when preparing to play the part, leaning back on not just one fellow star of the screen, but a rock legend, too. He told Venice magazine, “I’m a big Jerry Lewis fan. I heard him say once in an interview that his big secret is he’s only nine, that all his life he’s only been nine years old, and I thought, ‘Yes, absolutely’… He’s like a kid, you get that feeling with certain people.
Adding, “Mick Jagger has that. I think that’s a wonderful quality, especially as you get older. I did get the feeling that Frank Abagnale Sr and his son were like a couple of juvenile delinquents.”
Perhaps it’s that kind of mentality that has fed into Walken’s longevity; only last year, he showed he’s lost none of his presence as he was superb in the mind-bending Apple TV show Severance alongside another long-standing actor of some considerable quality in John Turturro. The pair of them shared a tender love story as separated colleagues in the Ben Stiller-directed show, and Walken deservedly picked up an Emmy nomination for his performance.
