edonline
10-06-2004, 11:12 PM
http://www.zap2it.com/movies/features/scenes/story/0,1259,---23149,00.html
Walken Details His Off-Beat Approach to Acting
By Mike Szymanski
October 6, 2004
Christopher Walken doesn't read the lines of the other actors in his scenes. He takes out all the punctuation marks of his own lines, and he rarely does a scene in exactly the same way.
In fact, the Academy Award-winning actor of more than 80 films says he rarely ever watches his own movies.
"I liked me in 'The Country Bears,' though," says the actor who's also appeared in "Envy," "The Stepford Wives," "Man on Fire," "The Rundown," "Gigli" and "Kangaroo Jack" in the past two years alone. "I know it's a kids' movie, but I thought I was funny, walking with my little shoes."
And, look closely, because whether he's in "Pulp Fiction," "Annie Hall," "The Sentinel" or "A View to A Kill," he works in a little dance move somewhere in his role -- a throwback to the days when he was a song-and-dance man before he became an actor. "I don't try to do it, but it does seem to happen," Walken smirks during a private interview with Zap2it.com.
Walken lip syncs to a Tom Jones song in an upcoming musical, "Romance and Cigarettes" and plays the Secretary of Treasury in a comedy "Wedding Crashers" with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, but in his latest role he is a rather subdued father who comes home to rediscover his family in "Around the Bend," which opens Friday, Oct. 8.
"I play a lot of monsters and people who want to take over the world and this is just a guy," says Walken, 61. "It's a juicy part, it was something different."
In "Around the Bend," Walken's character tries to reestablish contact with his son, played by "Sweet Home Alabama's" Josh Lucas, who has a son of his own, and they live with grandpa, played by Michael Caine.
The story was written and directed by Jordan Roberts, and it's based loosely on his life. First-timer Roberts was thrilled to work with such a high-caliber cast, even if the actors work very differently.
Walken is rather free-form and never does anything the same way, while Caine is meticulous and structured.
"Actors have their own way of doing things," Walken muses. "Everyone does it differently, yet somehow it all comes around in the end."
For Walken, his way of doing things earned him a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a strung-out Vietnam War veteran in 1978's best picture "The Deer Hunter" and another best supporting actor nomination in 2002's "Catch Me if You Can." He's happy for the recognition, and wouldn't mind more.
"If they want you in the movie, that's good, one of difficult things as an actor is to stick around," says Walken.
Sure, he knows that most times he's cast as a bad guy, and he loves doing those roles. "You get to do all sorts of things you couldn't possibly do," Walken smiles. "I think the audience knows when I play someone real crazy and that I'm having fun, and there's a little unacknowledged wink to them."
Walken says his stereotyped roles helps him get the occasionally different role, like in his latest film, "If I show up then audiences think everyone is going to be dead in a few minutes, but if I show up and raise puppies, that can be good, it's different."
This time, Walken says he connected well with young actor Jonah Bobo, who plays his grandson. "We had a great simpatico, he was a brilliant kid," says Walken, who confirms that he handed the boy a cow chip while they were filming, just to break the ice.
"Sure, we all have different ways," Walken repeats. "But I'm not saying one way is better than any other."
Walken Details His Off-Beat Approach to Acting
By Mike Szymanski
October 6, 2004
Christopher Walken doesn't read the lines of the other actors in his scenes. He takes out all the punctuation marks of his own lines, and he rarely does a scene in exactly the same way.
In fact, the Academy Award-winning actor of more than 80 films says he rarely ever watches his own movies.
"I liked me in 'The Country Bears,' though," says the actor who's also appeared in "Envy," "The Stepford Wives," "Man on Fire," "The Rundown," "Gigli" and "Kangaroo Jack" in the past two years alone. "I know it's a kids' movie, but I thought I was funny, walking with my little shoes."
And, look closely, because whether he's in "Pulp Fiction," "Annie Hall," "The Sentinel" or "A View to A Kill," he works in a little dance move somewhere in his role -- a throwback to the days when he was a song-and-dance man before he became an actor. "I don't try to do it, but it does seem to happen," Walken smirks during a private interview with Zap2it.com.
Walken lip syncs to a Tom Jones song in an upcoming musical, "Romance and Cigarettes" and plays the Secretary of Treasury in a comedy "Wedding Crashers" with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, but in his latest role he is a rather subdued father who comes home to rediscover his family in "Around the Bend," which opens Friday, Oct. 8.
"I play a lot of monsters and people who want to take over the world and this is just a guy," says Walken, 61. "It's a juicy part, it was something different."
In "Around the Bend," Walken's character tries to reestablish contact with his son, played by "Sweet Home Alabama's" Josh Lucas, who has a son of his own, and they live with grandpa, played by Michael Caine.
The story was written and directed by Jordan Roberts, and it's based loosely on his life. First-timer Roberts was thrilled to work with such a high-caliber cast, even if the actors work very differently.
Walken is rather free-form and never does anything the same way, while Caine is meticulous and structured.
"Actors have their own way of doing things," Walken muses. "Everyone does it differently, yet somehow it all comes around in the end."
For Walken, his way of doing things earned him a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a strung-out Vietnam War veteran in 1978's best picture "The Deer Hunter" and another best supporting actor nomination in 2002's "Catch Me if You Can." He's happy for the recognition, and wouldn't mind more.
"If they want you in the movie, that's good, one of difficult things as an actor is to stick around," says Walken.
Sure, he knows that most times he's cast as a bad guy, and he loves doing those roles. "You get to do all sorts of things you couldn't possibly do," Walken smiles. "I think the audience knows when I play someone real crazy and that I'm having fun, and there's a little unacknowledged wink to them."
Walken says his stereotyped roles helps him get the occasionally different role, like in his latest film, "If I show up then audiences think everyone is going to be dead in a few minutes, but if I show up and raise puppies, that can be good, it's different."
This time, Walken says he connected well with young actor Jonah Bobo, who plays his grandson. "We had a great simpatico, he was a brilliant kid," says Walken, who confirms that he handed the boy a cow chip while they were filming, just to break the ice.
"Sure, we all have different ways," Walken repeats. "But I'm not saying one way is better than any other."