When Christopher Walken refused to be upstaged by a squirrel: “A beautiful moment”
Sometimes, the weirdest people are the ones who make it big in the film industry, either with an intolerance to fitting in that makes them shine more brightly than anyone else or an aversion to the typical Hollywood bullshit that leads them onto their own, distinct path.
Whether it be Robert Pattinson and his shift from commercial blockbusters to niche indie films to Michael Cera and his love for global cinema, there are many actors who have forged careers based on their ability to do their own thing, remaining unapologetically themselves in spite of the noise. But there is one actor who is perhaps best known for this, with a strange and wonderful presence that has shaped some of the most widely beloved projects of all time.
Christopher Walken is a beautifully odd performer, with a myriad of stories that speak to his individuality and spark as a creative, leading him to work with everyone from Quentin Tarantino, Denis Villeneuve, Michael Cimino and Martin McDonagh. In recent years, he has touched on a new fanbase through his role in Ben Stiller’s hit television show, Severance, playing the endearing Burt as an office worker who sparks up a seemingly innocent romance with another employee.
However, while his presence in an Apple TV show might seem rogue, the actor has worked across all mediums throughout his career, with David Harbour describing his experience of seeing him star in Othello and the strange interaction he had with a squirrel.
Harbour is an infamous native of New York, with the actor being known for his work on stage as well as for playing Hopper in the Netflix series, Stranger Things. But it seemed as though inspiration seemed to strike him when he was very young, with the actor describing his experience of watching Walken star in an infamous Shakespeare play in the park.
When recalling this memory, Harbour said, “I mean some of the most magical stuff about New York for me as an actor, has been that when I was a kid, I grew up in Westchester, so I came down with my little girlfriend in eighth grade and we sat in line all day for Raul Julie and Chriss Walken were doing Othello in the Park”.
Adding: “But Chris came out and gave a monologue about how he hates the moon, and he came out and was like ‘I hate the moon’, and this squirrel came up on stage, right in front of him, looked at the squirrel and went ‘BAH’, and it just ran off. And it was like a beautiful, New York City, wildlife moment”.
In show business, people famously say that the show must always go on – something that has become a golden rule for everyone in the industry. But for Walken, this rule became meaningless after his audience became distracted by the presence of a mere squirrel, something that Walken clearly couldn’t put up with and needed to make sure he was the focus of everyone’s attention. While some would keep going, this is what makes Walken such a unique and eccentric character.
