Watch Christopher Walken read you a bedtime story
Christopher Walken has had a long and impressive career dating back to the 1950s. After starring in television shows as a child actor, lion taming as a teenager, and training as a dancer, Walken found his feet in the theatre.
By 1971, Walken had made his feature film debut with a small role in Sidney Lumet’s The Anderson Tapes alongside Sean Connery. Over the decade, the actor appeared in films such as Annie Hall, The Sentinel, and Next Stop, Greenwich Village. However, he recieved significant praise when he starred in The Deer Hunter in 1978, which led to his Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor.
Over the years, Walken has appeared in countless high-profile productions, with his films grossing over $1.6 billion in the U.S alone. Some of his credits include Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Catch Me If You Can, and A View to a Kill. The actor has even starred in music videos, most notably Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon of Choice’.
Walken has always been regarded as “one of the most respected actors of his generation” and is adored by fans because of his eccentricity and versatility. The actor is equally capable of profound, award-winning performances and light-hearted comedic roles. He has been praised by countless stars, such as Benicio del Toro, Sam Rockwell, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp, who claimed he starred in Nick of Time to work alongside Walken.
Another reason Walken is so loved is because of his distinctive New York drawl and vocal timing. He has stated that his voice is unique, perhaps due to growing up in Astoria. The actor shared, “The neighbourhood itself, you didn’t hear a lot of English. Lots of Greek, Italian, Polish, German, Yiddish. I think I grew up listening to people who spoke English in a kind of broken way. I think maybe I talked that way.”
Walken has used his voice to his advantage, previously performing his own quirky rendition of Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ in a spoken-word style and a rather impressive recital of ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe. However, in 1993, he donned an overwhelmingly bright jumper (according to Jonathan Ross) to “fulfil his lifelong ambition to come on national TV and entertain children.”
Appearing on Channel 4’s Saturday Zoo, Walken read a section of the classic children’s story The Three Little Pigs. But in typical Christopher Walken style, the actor puts his own dramatic spin on his rendition of the story, much to the amusement of the live audience.
Watch the full video below:
