A biography for Christopher Walkenhasn’t been written yet.
“And I think that when I play these villains, maybe what is different is that the audience sees me play these and they know that that's Chris and he's having fun and he knows that and he knows that and you know that and everybody knows that.”
“My life has been wonderful. Everybody has to be a little lucky, I think.”
“I don't usually get to play fathers or grandfathers or uncles. Now that I'm older, maybe I can play people closer to myself. I'd like that.”
“When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol Jacobs and he owned it. It was a small thing.”
“When you're onstage and you know you're bombing, that's very, very scary. Because you know you gotta keep going - you're bombing, but you can't stop. And you know that half an hour from now, you're still gonna be bombing. It takes a thick skin.”
“People come up to me all the time in New York. Not for autographs, but to talk about movies, often in a very scientific way.”
“I grew up in the '50s, in New York City, where television was born. There were 90 live shows every week, and they used a lot of kids. There were schools just for these kids. There was a whole world that doesn't exist anymore.”
“Quite often, I'll be sent a script for a movie. And I find that I like it, so I say I'll do it. But then they rewrite it for me. They make it quirky. Odd. I find that rather annoying. I call it Walkenising.”
“I think that sometimes when they see me in a movie they expect me to be something nasty. I mean, I play a lot of villains and you show up and they think maybe... That's why it's good to defy expectations sometimes.”
“I like to go to work, and also, I don't have any kids. I don't have any hobbies. I don't like to travel. So going to work is kind of it.”
“I was born in America but all of my friends' parents, everybody's parents, including my own, had come to America from Europe. Many people in my neighborhood hardly bothered to learn English.”
“I live sort of in the country and I like that. It's very quiet, it's beautiful.”
“Even in the limo, I buckle my seatbelt. I got that seatbelt on before the car moves.”
“To be honest, I was never very ambitious. And I still am not.”
“Is typecasting really a problem?”
“I'm scared of everything. I think it's only sensible to be that way.”
“My hair was famous before I was.”
“I don't carry lucky charms, but I believe in those things.”
“I'll tell you, Quentin Tarantino really writes the most amazing dialogue.”
“Some people can do things and get away with it. Comics are famously like that. Why is it that some guys can say the most horrible things and it's not offensive, it's funny?”