Born to immigrant parents in New York, Ronald Walken was the youngest of three boys. While his father ran the little bakery he owned, the boys' mother was a member of the Stage Mothers' Society and was always bringing the little ones to television auditions and photo shoots. Young Ronnie's first role was posing with cats for a calendar when he was three years old, and by the time he was ten, he and his brothers were enrolled in tap dancing classes and regularly performed on television variety shows. In their free time, the boys would help their father with the bakery and go to Manhattan to find little jobs on television and in the theater.

When he was fifteen, during a brief job working with a circus lion tamer, Ronnie appeared in the off-Broadway play J.B. He later graduated from the Professional Children's School and spent a year a Hofstra University on Long Island. The following spring, he and his brother Glenn were cast by their tap instructor in the off-Broadway Musical Best Foot Forward, along with a little girl from their acting lessons, Liza Minelli. For the next two and a half years Ronnie acted in musical theater, and met Georgianne Thon during a touring production of West Side Story. They later married, in 1969.

At age 22, Monique Van Vooren, who was working with Walken, decided to call him Christopher, and he stuck with it. The name first appeared on the bill for Baker Street in 1965. Chris then performed a number of dramatic rolls on stage, combating extreme stage fright, and went on to win the Clarence Derwent Award for his performance of King Phillip in The Lion in Winter.

Christopher's film career began when he was 25, with minor roles in a number of films, including that of Annie's suicidal brother in Woody Allen's Annie Hall. Soon after, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Deer Hunter, and also starred in the critically loathed Heaven's Gate.

His career never slowed down, and Chris continued to be cast in a wide range of films, including the last MGM musical, Pennies from Heaven. Choreographed by his former tap teacher, this movie earned him glowing reviews from critics and legendary tap-dancers Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley.

Christopher Walken has acted in nearly one hundred films in his lifetime, and well over that many stage performances, encompassing every style and genre imaginable. He and his wife are happily married and working around the world. Recently, in addition to becoming one of SNL's most popular hosts, Walken has averaged nearly five movies per year, testament to his skill, dedication, and talent even at the age of sixty-two.

Walken has been married to Georgianne Walken (born Thon) since 1969. Georgianne is a casting agent, most notably for The Sopranos.

Walken was the subject of a hoax in August 2006 when an unidentified fan created a fake campaign website which announced he was running for President of the United States.

Filmography

• Citizen Brando (2007)
• The Dirt (2001)
• Five Dollars a Day (2008)
• Balls of Fury (2007)
• Hairspray (2007)
• Man of the Year (2006)
• Fade to Black (2006)
• Click (2006)
• True Crime: New York City (2005)
• Domino (2005)
• Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
• Wedding Crashers (2005)
• Around the Bend (2004)
• The Stepford Wives (2004)
• Envy (2004)
• Man on Fire (2004)
• True Crime: Streets of LA (2003)
• The Rundown (2003)
• Gigli (2003)
• "Saturday Night Live" (6 episodes, 1990-2003)
• Kangaroo Jack (2003)
• Julius Caesar (2002)
• Catch Me If You Can (2002)
• Plots with a View (2002)
• Engine Trouble (2002)
• The Country Bears (2002)
• Poolhall Junkies (2002)
• The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
• America's Sweethearts (2001)
• Joe Dirt (2001)
• Scotland, Pa. (2001)
• Jungle Juice (2001)
• The Opportunists (2000)
• The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000)
• Kiss Toledo Goodbye (1999)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Madonna: The Video Collection 93:99 (1999)
• Vendetta (1999)
• Blast from the Past (1999)
• Antz (1998)
• Trance (1998)
• New Rose Hotel (1998)
• Illuminata (1998)
• The Prophecy II (1998)
• Mousehunt (1997)
• Suicide Kings (1997)
• Excess Baggage (1997)
• Touch (1997)
• Last Man Standing (1996)
• The Funeral (1996)
• Basquiat (1996)
• Celluloide (1996)
• Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996)
• Ripper (1996)
• Nick of Time (1995)
• The Addiction (1995)
• The Prophecy (1995)
• Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
• Search and Destroy (1995)
• Wild Side (1995)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)
• A Business Affair (1994)
• Wayne's World 2 (1993)
• True Romance (1993)
• Scam (1993)
• Skylark (1993)
• All-American Murder (1992)
• Grand pardon II, Le (1992)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Mistress (1992)
• McBain (1991)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991)
• The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
• King of New York (1990)
• Communion (1989)
• Homeboy (1988)
• Cannon Movie Tales: Puss in Boots (1988)
• Biloxi Blues (1988)
• The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
• Deadline (1987)
• The Gershwin Gala (1987)
• At Close Range (1986)
• A View to a Kill (1985)
• The Dead Zone (1983)
• Brainstorm (1983)
• Who Am I This Time? (1982)
• Pennies from Heaven (1981)
• The Dogs of War (1981)
• Heaven's Gate (1980)
• Last Embrace (1979)
• The Deer Hunter (1978)
• Shoot the Sun Down (1978)
• Roseland (1977)
• Annie Hall (1977)
• "Kojak" (1 episode, 1977)
• The Sentinel (1977)
• Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
• Valley Forge (1975)
• The Happiness Cage (1972)
• The Anderson Tapes (1971)
• "Hawaii Five-O" (1 episode, 1970)
• Me and My Brother (1969)
• The Three Musketeers (1969)
• Barefoot in Athens (1966)
• "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1 episode, 1966)
• "Naked City" (1 episode, 1963)
• "The Guiding Light" (1952)
• "The Motorola Television Hour" (1 episode, 1954)
• "The Wonderful John Acton" (1953)

Awards

• ShoWest Supporting Actor of the Year 2003
• BAFTA Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role "Catch Me If You Can" 2002
• National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor "Catch Me If You Can" 2002
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role "Catch Me If You Can" 2002
• American Comedy Award Funniest Male Guest Star in a TV Series "Saturday Night Live" 2001
• IFP Gotham Award Actor 1995
• OBIE Award Performance "The Sea Gulf" 1980 - 81
• New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor "The Deer Hunter" 1978
• Oscar Best Supporting Actor "The Deer Hunter" 1978
• OBIE Award Performance "Kid Champion" 1974 - 75
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performance "Lemon Sky" 1970
• Theatre World Award "The Rose Tattoo" 1967
• Clarence Derwent Award "The Lion in Winter" 1966