Christopher Walken, American actor
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor and comedian who has appeared in more than 100 films and television programs, including Annie Hall (1977), The Deer Hunter (1978), The Dogs of War (1980), Brainstorm (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), King of New York (1990), Batman Returns (1992), True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Last Man Standing (1996), Mouse Hunt (1997), Antz (1998), Vendetta (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Joe Dirt (2001), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Click (2006), Hairspray (2007), Seven Psychopaths (2012), the first three Prophecy films, The Jungle Book (2016), and Irreplaceable You (2018). He has received a number of awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Deer Hunter. He was nominated for the same award and won BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Catch Me If You Can. His films have grossed more than $1 billion in the United States alone.Walken has also played the lead in the Shakespeare plays Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Coriolanus. He is a popular guest-host of Saturday Night Live, hosting seven times. His most notable roles on the show include record producer Bruce Dickinson in the "More Cowbell" sketch; the disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus; and multiple appearances in the Continental sketch. He has also appeared in Hallmark Hall of Fame's Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Walken debuted as a film director and screenwriter with the 2001 short film Popcorn Shrimp. He also wrote and played the lead role in the 1995 play Him about his idol Elvis Presley.