On This Day

Birthday of Christopher Walken

March 31st 1943

10:53 31 March 2024

American actor Christopher Walken was born on this day in 1943. Walken began acting as a child and appeared in numerous American television programmes as well as performing in theatrical productions. He made his film debut in Sidney Lumet's 'The Anderson Tapes' (1971) where he was credited as 'The Kid'. His first starring role came with 'The Happiness Cage' (1972).

Supporting roles followed in 'Next Stop, Greenwich Village' (1976), 'Annie Hall' (1977) and 'The Sentinel' (1977) before his breakout role playing Nick in Michael Cimino's 'The Deer Hunter' (1978) which won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The 80s saw Walken progress to lead and major supporting roles in movies including ‘Heaven’s Gate’ (1980), ‘The Dogs of War’ (1980), ‘Brainstorm’ (1983), ‘The Dead Zone’ (1983), as Bond villain Max Zorin in ‘A View to a Kill’ (1985), ‘At Close Range’ (1986) and ‘Biloxi Blues’ (1988). 

Other notable film credits include ‘King of New York’ (1990), ‘Batman Returns’ (1992), ‘True Romance’ (1993), ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994), ‘Last Man Standing’ (1996), ‘Mousehunt’ (1997), ‘Sleepy Hollow’ (1999), ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002), ‘Hairspray’ (2007), ‘Seven Psychopaths’ (2012), ‘Eddie the Eagle’ (2015) and 'Dune: Part Two' (2024). He has also starred in the hit TV shows ‘The Outlaws’ (2021 - 2022) and ‘Severance’ (2022).

The recipient of numerous accolades, Christopher Walken’s films have grossed more than $1.6 billion in the United States alone. Happy Birthday Christopher.