The exact moment Christopher Walken began his lifelong obsession with Elvis Presley: “That’s where it all started”
Elvis Presley and Christopher Walken aren’t two people you’d immediately associate with each other. One is a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll star, whilst the other is an idiosyncratic Hollywood legend. However, when you really think about it, they’re not so different.
Both are incredibly popular within their respective fields, regularly imitated but never equalled. Equally, both have made forays into each other’s worlds; Elvis starred in many films (of questionable quality) in the 1960s, whilst Walken has appeared in Broadway musicals. He also showed the world his dance moves in the music video for Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon of Choice’, lest we forget.
It is perhaps fitting, then, that the star of The Deer Hunter and Catch Me If You Can is a massive Elvis nut. His iconic hair is actually a tribute to the King. In an interview with The New York Times, Walken spoke about the moment he first set eyes on his future idol. “There was this girl named Janice,” he recalled. “I guess I was 15 years old. I was crazy about this girl. I finally worked up the nerve to ask her to a dance.”
Walken recounted how Janice told him that she would love to join him, but she already had a boyfriend – an “older guy” who wouldn’t take kindly to her dancing with someone else. “She showed me a picture of this guy. He was unbelievably handsome. I said: ‘Wait a second. That’s not a photograph. You cut that out of a magazine. I’m asking you to the dance. What is this? You’re giving me this jazz?’ She said: ‘It’s true. He’s this singer. His name is Elvis, and I’m crazy about him.’ I said: ‘Forget that. You don’t even know him. Let’s go to the dance.‘”
In the end, Janice did accompany young Christopher that night, but whilst she didn’t stay in his life, the singer in the photograph did. “I got a glimpse of Elvis and the hair,” said Walken. “That’s where it all started. Elvis was fabulous. I wish I’d known Elvis. I bet he was nice.” This is where the obsession began, one that eventually resulted in Walken writing a play about the Memphis legend called Him. He also starred in the production (naturally), which told the story of Elvis in the afterlife.
It was a surreal take on one of the most famous deaths in pop culture history – one that imagined Elvis running away to Morocco to get gender reassignment surgery – and, sadly, it was panned by most critics.
When asked what he would say to his hero if he ever met him, Walken became melancholy about the star’s untimely demise. “I wouldn’t want to ask him anything,” he said. “I would just sit around with him. I was very upset about his death. That whole pill business… It was too easy for Elvis to get those pills. He didn’t take care of himself — all those cheeseburgers. He should have eaten better. I think Elvis needed a good wife. Somebody to say, “Elvis, enough.” He was special. He was different. Poor old Elvis.”
As well as talking about Elvis, the actor also spoke about how, sometimes, a role he agrees to play will suddenly be “Walkenised” before shooting begins. “Suddenly, I’ll become a little more zany or wild,” he said. “I prefer to play the part that I prepared for. I don’t like surprises.”
