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This Queens, New York born actor/performer has been
in show business since 1946 when he was just three-years
old. Walken's mother Rosalie took him and his two brothers
to catalogue photo shoots and later appeared on television.
Walken then was in musical comedy and theater for many
years. His birth name was Ronald and he changed it to
Christopher at age 25 on the advice of a nightclub singer
he was working with. He began films as early as 1968,
but it wasn't until a notable appearance in the film
Annie Hall, playing Diane Keaton's suicidal brother
that he began to regularly work in film. Shortly after,
he appeared as the haunted character, Nick in The Deer
Hunter, for which he won an Academy Award. This catapulted
his film career and Walken has gone on to do more than
90 films, two music videos, and notable appearances
on Saturday Night Live. His specialty has always been
playing villains or psychos, but Walken does very well
in comedy, romance and drama genres as well. His unique
look and way of speaking has made him a favorite of
impersonators and a scene-stealer in any movie he appears.
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