| Christopher Walken 2005 Marquee Award Recipient |
Christopher Walken is not an actor - he's a performer. He can sing. He can dance. And yes, he can act as
well as anyone of his generation. To call him a chameleon would understate not only his ability take on
nearly every conceivable role but also his status as a true American icon. Walken is that rare breed of
actor who can take on any part - and he's taken on well over 100 in his half-century in the profession -
and seem completely natural every time. When you need a straight man, he's as straight as they come.
When you need a villain, he's terrifyingly adept. When you need and emotional pillar, he is firmly planted
in reality.
Or, as he did in only five minutes of screen time in PULP FICTION, when you need all of the above, he
obliges: As Capt. Koons, he mesmerized us as a former POW explaining the fate of a young boy's father
only to leave us in joyful hysterics by the scene's end. It was just Walken being Walken, showing the full
range of his abilities with utter effortlessness.
Walken is possibly the last of the old-style entertainers: He approaches his craft with workmanlike zeal,
performing for the thrill of it rather than for the reputation it may bestow on him. Yet, his approach has
left him as one of the few actors working today for whom “reputation” is irrelevant because the work is
universally watchable. He can play Shakespeare as readily as he can play Joe Dirt. He can be nominated
for an Oscar, as he was for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, in the same year that he is nominated for a Razzy, as
he was for THE COUNTRY BEARS. There is no high-brow or low-brow for Walken, there is simply work,
and work has a way of being its own reward.
Luckily we're rewarded every time he's onscreen, on stage, or on TV. There are the defining roles, like
his Oscar-winning turn in THE DEER HUNTER; there are the roles that make you realize the depth of his
talents, like his Tony-nominated role in the stage musical James Joyce's The Dead; and there are the fun
bursts that have made him as recognized and respected among youths as among older generations,
like his MTV Award-winning waltz-for-one in Fatboy Slim's “Weapon of Choice” and his recurring guest
spots on Saturday Night Live. He is reportedly one of only a few actors who have a standing invitation to
host Saturday Night Live once per season if his schedule permits. The people at SNL must know the
score: Christopher Walken doesn't just show up...he performs.
well as anyone of his generation. To call him a chameleon would understate not only his ability take on
nearly every conceivable role but also his status as a true American icon. Walken is that rare breed of
actor who can take on any part - and he's taken on well over 100 in his half-century in the profession -
and seem completely natural every time. When you need a straight man, he's as straight as they come.
When you need a villain, he's terrifyingly adept. When you need and emotional pillar, he is firmly planted
in reality.
Or, as he did in only five minutes of screen time in PULP FICTION, when you need all of the above, he
obliges: As Capt. Koons, he mesmerized us as a former POW explaining the fate of a young boy's father
only to leave us in joyful hysterics by the scene's end. It was just Walken being Walken, showing the full
range of his abilities with utter effortlessness.
Walken is possibly the last of the old-style entertainers: He approaches his craft with workmanlike zeal,
performing for the thrill of it rather than for the reputation it may bestow on him. Yet, his approach has
left him as one of the few actors working today for whom “reputation” is irrelevant because the work is
universally watchable. He can play Shakespeare as readily as he can play Joe Dirt. He can be nominated
for an Oscar, as he was for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, in the same year that he is nominated for a Razzy, as
he was for THE COUNTRY BEARS. There is no high-brow or low-brow for Walken, there is simply work,
and work has a way of being its own reward.
Luckily we're rewarded every time he's onscreen, on stage, or on TV. There are the defining roles, like
his Oscar-winning turn in THE DEER HUNTER; there are the roles that make you realize the depth of his
talents, like his Tony-nominated role in the stage musical James Joyce's The Dead; and there are the fun
bursts that have made him as recognized and respected among youths as among older generations,
like his MTV Award-winning waltz-for-one in Fatboy Slim's “Weapon of Choice” and his recurring guest
spots on Saturday Night Live. He is reportedly one of only a few actors who have a standing invitation to
host Saturday Night Live once per season if his schedule permits. The people at SNL must know the
score: Christopher Walken doesn't just show up...he performs.
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