2012 | Cast in ensemble crime comedy "Seven Psychopaths" |
2010 | Returned to Broadway in the black comedy "A Behanding in Spokane"; earned Tony Award nomination for Leading Actor in a Play |
2007 | Acted in the remake of John Water's "Hairspray" as Edna Turnblad's (John Travolta) husband Wilbur |
2006 | Cast opposite Robin Williams in Barry Levinson's political comedy "Man of the Year" |
2006 | Cast opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy "Click," directed by Frank Coraci |
2005 | Portrayed a reality TV producer in "Domino" opposite Keira Knightley as Domino Harvey, a model-turned-bounty hunter |
2005 | Appeared in the romantic comedy "The Wedding Crashers," starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn |
2005 | Cast opposite James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, and Kate Winslet in "Romance & Cigarettes," helmed by John Turturro |
2004 | Starred opposite Jack Black and Ben Stiller in the comedy "Envy"; directed by Barry Levinson |
2004 | Cast in the remake of ''The Stepford Wives,'' Bryan Forbes' 1975 cult classic about upper-crust women being replaced by robots with sunny dispositions |
2002 | Portrayed Marcus Porcius Cato in the TNT miniseries "Julius Caesar" |
2002 | Played the father of the youngest man to make the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List (Leonardo DiCaprio) in "Catch Me If You Can"; received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role |
2001 | Appeared as a mesmerist in the period drama "Affair of the Necklace" |
2001 | Returned to the stage in the Mike Nichols-directed "The Seagull"; presented by the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park |
2001 | Danced in the popular Fatboy Slim music video "Weapon of Choice" |
2000 | Played an ex-con who gets embroiled in a robbery scheme in "The Opportunists" |
1999 | Made third telefilm with Glenn Close, "Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End" (CBS) |
1999 | Returned to the NYC stage for the musical "James Joyce's The Dead"; received Tony nomination as Actor in a Musical |
1998 | Offered an over-the-top comedic performance as an effete turn-of-the-century drama critic in John Turturro's "Illuminata" |
1998 | Voiced the character of Cutter in the animated "Antz" |
1997 | Reprised role of Gabriel in the sequel "Prophecy II: Ashtown" |
1997 | Offered a wildly over-the-top cameo as an exterminator in the comedy "Mouse Hunt" |
1996 | Starred as the eldest of three brothers in a crime family in Ferrara's "The Funeral" |
1995 | Cast as Gabriel, the evil leader of renegade angels in "The Prophecy" |
1995 | Debut as playwright (also starred) with one-man, off-Broadway production "Him" |
1994 | Co-starred in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction"; delivered a memorable monologue about a gold watch |
1993 | Acted opposite Dennis Hopper in "True Romance"; scripted by Quentin Tarantino; his so-called "Sicilian scene" hailed by critics as the best scene in the film |
1992 | Appeared as the department store owner Max Schreck in "Batman Returns" |
1990 | First of several films with director Abel Ferrara, "The King of New York" |
1989 | Portrayed real-life author Whitley Streiber, who claimed to have had encounters with aliens in "Communion" |
1988 | Had title role in NYSF's production of "Coriolanus" |
1988 | Played the nemesis sergeant to a wisecracking new recruit in the film adaptation of Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" |
1986 | Cast as the father with a criminal past in the downbeat but well-acted "At Close Range," co-starring Sean Penn and Chris Penn |
1986 | Played Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival |
1985 | Portrayed the villain out to destroy Sillicon Valley in the James Bond adventure "A View to a Kill" |
1984 | Co-starred in David Rabe's play about Hollywood "Hurlyburly" |
1981 | Displayed his dancing abilities to great effect as the oily villain in "Pennies From Heaven" |
1980 | Re-teamed with Cimino for the controversial "Heaven's Gate" |
1978 | Won an Oscar for his memorable turn as a soldier serving in Vietnam in Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter" |
1977 | Danced for the first time in a feature in James Ivory's "Roseland" |
1977 | Offered memorable cameo as Diane Keaton's brother in "Annie Hall" |
1975 | Portrayed Chance Wayne to Irene Worth's Alexandra del Largo in Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" |
1975 | Starred in the stage play "Kid Champion" |
1974 | Played "Macbeth" at the NYSF's Public Theatre |
1972 | First film in a lead role, "The Happiness Cage" |
1971 | Had first significant feature role in "The Anderson Tapes" |
1968 | Film debut, a bit part in "Me and My Brother" |
1966 | Made first appearance with the New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) in "Measure for Measure" in Central Park |
1965 | Cast in the chorus of "Baker Street"; first role billed as 'Christopher' Walken |
1960 | Worked for the summer as an assistant lion tamer with the Tarryl Jacobs Circus |
1959 | Made Broadway debut in "J.B." (billed as Ronnie Walken) |
1954 | Occasionally replaced brother Glenn as Mike Bauer on CBS daytime drama "The Guiding Light" |
| Appeared on live television in the 1950s |
| Trained as a dancer |
| Began career as a catalog model with his brothers |
| Born and raised in the Astoria section of Queens, NY |
