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Press Materials ©1980 United Artists Corporation |
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CHRISTOPHER WALKEN FEATURE STORY/BIOGRAPHY (Press
Release October 20, 1980) Christopher Walken didn't have much time to savor his Academy Award. The day after Chris accepted his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter, he boarded a plane for Montana to begin working in Cimino's new film, Heaven's Gate, a shattering drama of the American West written and directed by Michael Cimino and produced by Joann Carelli. Chris plays a tough but compassionate gunfighter in the United Artists release, which stars Kris Kristofferson and co-stars Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, Isabelle Huppert as Ella and Joseph Cotten as the Reverend Doctor. Jeff Bridges is also starred.
"I've always wanted to be a famous actor," Chris admits, "What amazes me is that after all the years of hard work I guess I made it because of one role." It might have been only one role, but it was one stunning performance. Under Cimino's direction, Chris's portrayal of a steelworker who undergoes a tremendous change following an incredible wartime experience in The Deer Hunter overwhelmed audiences throughout the world. The years of hard work started early for Christopher Walken. He began his career as a child actor, appearing on numerous television shows. He studied tap dancing, became an accomplished dancer and worked in the chorus lines of musicals. [A talented dancer, he made his first off-Broadway appearance in the musical revue, Best Foot Forward, which also marked the stage debut of Liza Minnelli. He made his Broadway debut at the age of 16 in the Elia Kazan production of Archibald MacLeish's play, J.B.] [When J.B. closed, Walken took two years off from acting to attend Hofstra University where he studied English literature. He returned to Broadway with roles in the musicals High Spirits and Baker Street and followed that with a road tour of West Side Story.] "I must have been in 60 different shows all over the U.S. and Canada," says Chris. "Most actors have to find an alternative way of making money, but I always managed to make a living in the theatre. I danced in local theatre, regional theatre, summer tours and off-Broadway before I finally made it to Broadway in the musicals High Spirits and West Side Story." He continued performing in musicals until he was cast in the original production of The Lion in Winter, starring Rosemary Harris. "It was really my first straight acting role. I think I almost lost the job because everyone thought that a dancer wouldn't be able to speak properly." Chris more than rose to the occasion and his portrayal of King Philip in Lion in Winter not only earned him acclaim, but won him the prestigious Clarence Derwent Award. Since that time he has concentrated his talents on dramatic acting.
As his popularity increased, he began receiving film offers. He made his movie debut in The Anderson Tapes, appeared in Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Roseland, and Woody Allen's Annie Hall, before being cast by Michael Cimino in The Deer Hunter. Now Chris has another plum role in Heaven's Gate. "I would have taken the part simply because Michael Cimino was directing the picture," he frankly admits. "But when I read the screenplay I became really excited. It's based on a true incident and it's the kind of tough, intelligent, action-packed type of Western drama that John Ford used to make. There hasn't been a similar film done for a long time." Strangely enough, acting is not hard work for Chris. He claims he never wants to work hard even if it means not being a movie star. That's all theoretical now. With an Oscar win and world-wide acclaim, Chris Walken is already a movie star. He recently completed another starring role in The Dogs of War, soon to be released by United Artists.
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He won an Obie for his performance in the title role
of Kid Champion in 1975, and won a Theatre World Award for his
acting in the City Center revival of The Rose Tattoo. He
also performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival [in Troilus
and Cressida, The Tempest and Macbeth. He played the role
of Hamlet with the Seattle Repertory Company, played the title role
in Albert Camus' 
