Posted by Mr. Beaks

He is, surely, one of the most iconic actors of our age.  Everyone (regrettably) has a Christopher Walken impression.  Though he won an Oscar for his performance as the tortured soldier who becomes a dehumanized Russian Roulette champion in The Deer Hunter, Walken has, over several decades, mostly made his reputation as a villain.  According to the man himself in the following roundtable interview, that’s something he’d like to get away from, which is why you’ll be seeing him this weekend playing a strange, but generally kind-hearted Secretary of the Treasury in The Wedding Crashers.

Along with his latest movie, Walken also discusses his thoughts on parenthood, his daily regimen, and the cowbell.

In another life, could you see yourself getting into politics?

No.  And that was really the first thing I noticed about the part.  I thought it was so interesting that they would ask me to play the Secretary of the Treasury.  It’s bizarre.

Have you seen the movie?

You know, I live in the country, and I have not seen it.  I should say that right away.  But it doesn’t matter.  I do remember everything.  (Laughter.)

What were some of your favorite memories of shooting the film?

It was wonderful… you know, lots of things about it:  a wonderful cast, the director is terrific.  It was a very good script; even before I met anybody, you could see it was a good, funny script.  But, then, for me it was something different, to play a father, a good guy, the Secretary of the Treasury.  That’s the first time I’ve ever played anybody… what can I say?  Trustworthy.  (Laughter.)

People have mentioned that when you sense people are in awe of you that you have an easy way of disarming them.  I was wondering, is there a particular look that you see, when you walk on a set and see a young actor—

No.  I’ve heard that, but that’s not true.  I’ve never noticed that anybody treats me that way.  I think what happens is that the audience, I think, because of all the parts I’ve played that were villains, or something like that, that there is an expectation that I’m going to be villainous.  That’s why it’s good to do something different.

Like a music video.

Or this.  You know, I play, basically, a nice man.

And you had a good time.  The director said he wrote in the scene where you dance.  Are you finding that, after the Fatboy Slim video, everybody’s writing in scenes for you to dance?

I didn’t know that.  They didn’t write it into the scene.  You know, it’s a wedding; of course, people dance.  I’ve danced in movies where it wasn’t gratuitous; I just started to dance for no reason.  Maybe I’ve done that too much.  But in this movie… sure, it’s a wedding.  It makes sense.

Have you ever crashed a wedding?

No… no.  I’ve crashed… you know, when I was a kid, I suppose I crashed some parties.  A wedding is different.  You have to have the clothes; you have to know some facts in case somebody catches you.

Do you hunt?

No.  (Laughter.)  That was awkward, with the guns.

Did you interact with the other actors often?

Oh, sure.

What did you think of young actors?

Of what?

What do you think of these young actors now?

They’re wonderful.  Now, there’s probably more good young actors than ever. 

Was it easy for you to do your role?

Yeah.  This was… to be with these people that are all very talented and young is nice.  And you can see that Vince and Owen, even when they weren’t acting, you could see that they like each other.  They enjoy each other.  So, that’s good.

You seem to have an offbeat sense of humor, and so does Owen.  I was wondering if there was a special bond there.  Did you guys connect at all?

You know, we didn’t.  We went to work and had fun there, but I didn’t know anybody really.  Owen is very nice.  He’s quiet.  He’s a quiet man.  I didn’t get to know him, no.

How about Vince?

Vince… you know, Vince is big.  He’s a big guy, and he’s a big personality.  Yeah, I probably got to know Vince a little better.  (Laughter.)

Could you elaborate on that a little?

Vince is… wonderful.  Fun.  He’s a big guy.

He’s got a sense of humor.

Yeah.  And he’s a big personality.  He’s not quiet.

Had you ever met John McCain or James Carville before?

No, but that was so interesting.  They had, of course, their own things to do, but they came for an hour.

You’ve done so many films by this time.  Is there anyone you would like to work with?  Is there anyone left for Chris?

Oh, sure.  You know, I want to work with… so many people.  People I haven’t even met.  Directors.

Like who?

The obvious things.  I would love to work with Scorsese, you know, to make a movie with him.  Never did that.  Pollack, Bertolucci… lots of people I can’t even… there are too many.

Do lots of younger actors come to you for advice? 

No.  You know, actors, as far as I know, they never talk about acting.  Never.  They talk about movies, they talk about girls, they talk about restaurants.  But they don’t say, “What do you think is my motivation?”

I just thought, a younger actor would, because you’ve had so much experience that—

No.  I remember when I was a young actor, an older actor said to me, “Don’t work so hard.”  That was good.  (Laughter.)

Do you refuse scripts often?

I’m more inclined to say yes.

Why is that?

Because I like to work.

Are you going to do any more comedies?

I’m going to this summer.  I’m going to make a movie with Adam Sandler called Click.

Who do you play in the movie?

It’s hard to say.  (Laughter.)  No, it’s very difficult to talk about a movie before you make it because… every movie I’ve ever made, when I see it, it’s different than I thought.

What’s it about?

It’s about a man who goes… and I don’t want to say too much.  It’s about a man who goes back and forth in his life.  He sees the future and the past.

You’ve got another two movies coming up.  Domino and—

Domino and Romance and Cigarettes.

In that one, you sing and dance, right?

Yes.  I haven’t seen it, but I do a song of Tom Jones’s. 

“It’s Not Unusual?”

No.  “Delilah”.

What do you play in Domino?

I play a television producer.  A small part.

You work with Tony Scott quite a bit.  Is there a sort of comfort level with him?

Yeah!  I really like him.  He hires me.  I do like him very much.  He and I have a good time.

What’s the first time you heard an impression of yourself?  What did you think?

Yeah, it’s true.  I don’t know when that started, but a lot of people do that.

Is it amazing when you first hear that you’ve reached a level that people are doing impersonations of you?

It’s very… yeah, I like it.  (Laughter.)  Sure.  It’s flattering.

You do a very good one, by the way.

I… oh, of me.  Well, actually, right now I’m doing Barbara Streisand.  (Huge laughter from the room.)  You wouldn’t know it.  (More laughter.)  I’m a terrible impersonator.

But you do a good Walken.

I do a good Walken.  Good actors very often are good mimics, but I can’t do anybody.

What do you think about your celebrity status?

It’s very difficult to know.  Obviously, some people are more famous.  Some people think I’m famous, some people don’t know who I am.  Fame is relative. 

Do you enjoy it?

Yes.  If I was an actor at my age and people didn’t recognize me, I would be very depressed.  (Laughter.)  As a matter of fact, sometimes when I walk down the street, time will go by… you can tell when people know you.  Even if they don’t look at you or say anything, you can tell that somebody saw you and that they know who you are.  And if I walk down the street and nothing happens… I get sad.  (Laughter.)  And, then, you know, like a miracle, an angel, sombody will say, “Hey, Chris!”  And then I go, “Ah!  Well, it’s okay.”  (Laughter.)

What do you think about paparazzi invading privacy?

You know, paparazzi have never bothered me.  I think that it’s just a certain level of celebrity.  Paparazzi don’t pay any attention to me.

Do a lot of people ask you about “more cowbell?”

Yes… yes.  All the time. 

Does it get annoying?

No, no.  It’s interesting, though.  It makes you understand the power of television.

I think you’ve done more for the cowbell.

It’s interesting what, you know… television is enormous.  All over the world, people see things on television much more than movies, I think.

Chris, you’ve built this great reputation and great career doing these intense roles.  In the last few years, have you made a conscious effort to try to reverse that because it actually was a stumbling block to getting different kinds of roles?

I think you’re right.  Nowadays, if I have a choice, I try to stay a little bit away from things.  I’ve done so many villains.  And, also, for a long time I did not get certain parts.  Now, I get to play somebody’s uncle, somebody’s father.  That took a long time.  So, for me, just in terms of thinking about career, I try to stay away from bad guys too much.

Now that you’re playing a father, and you don’t have children of your own, do you wish that you’d had that emotional experience?

I don’t know.  I mean, I pretend.  It may be better.  I don’t think… I got into movies late, and I don’t think I could afford children.  And, also, I traveled all the time; I don’t think I would see them.  I don’t think I could give them a lot of things.  My wife always worked, so we always had two jobs.  It’s good that I didn’t have children.  Good for them.  (Laughter.)

Ever think of adopting?

No.  I mean, children, whether they are adopted or they’re yours, are children.  A very big thing.  You have to think about them all the time. 

Do you have any pets?

A cat.  Cats are good, you know, because they just do whatever they want.

What’s a day like for Chris?

I live kind of in the country.  You mean when I’m not making movies?

Yes.

Yeah.  I live in a nice place.  With trees.  My favorite thing is to have a script or maybe two scripts, to be at home and study them and learn the part.

Any hobbies?

No.  I don’t play sports.  No sports.  No golf, tennis. 

Do you go online at all?

I don’t have a computer.  You know, I don’t have a cell phone.  I don’t have a wrist watch. 

Do you work out?

I do.  I exercise every day.

Do you have a gym?

I have a treadmill. 

You act like you’re cavalier toward acting itself – “Don’t work too hard” and all of that.  But do you ever wonder where that scary guy, that intense guy, where you drew that from?

I didn’t do it.  I think it’s just… first of all, it has to do with before I became a movie actor, I was in the theater, and I almost always did comedy.  And musical theater.  But in the movies I translate into something a little villainous, I think, because, physically, it’s how you look.  And I’m pale; I’m naturally pale.  But, also, the first two movies I made that people saw were both… I was a disturbed person.  In Annie Hall, which was the first really popular thing I did, I was driving into traffic.  And in The Deer Hunter, I shot myself in the head.  And I think that that was very early, and that established something, that there was something wrong with me.  (Laughter.) 

And were they right?

Right?  No, no, if that was true, I wouldn’t still be here.  As a matter of fact, the opposite is true. 

You dance, right?  What’s your favorite kind of dance?

No, no.  Dance professionally?  You mean at parties?  No, I never dance.  I dance for money.  (Laughter.)

The Wedding Crashers opens Friday, July 15^th all over the freakin’ place.