Just Walken around Queens
May 3, 2010 6:10 PM   Subscribe

A short trip with Christopher Walken to his old neighborhood. I thought it was pleasant, plus it's fun to imagine him saying such ordinary things.
posted by BlackLeotardFront (33 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Enjoyable read, thanks for bringing it.
posted by Daddy-O at 6:17 PM on May 3, 2010


I wonder if the woman in the kitchen would have recognized him if he started dancing on the ceiling.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 6:23 PM on May 3, 2010 [1 favorite]


That was a neat read. I didn't realize that he grew up in Queens. Thanks for posting this!
posted by zarq at 6:26 PM on May 3, 2010


Yes, thanks for this... Its weird how fond I feel about Christopher Walken when I consider how odd or extreme, violent or villainous so many of his roles are. I just like the guy.
posted by Auden at 6:33 PM on May 3, 2010


"Wow. It’s crazy how small it is ..."

I can totally hear that in my head in Walken's voice.
posted by bwg at 6:42 PM on May 3, 2010


I loved reading his quotes in my mind with his voice. Something about doing that made the article 500% more entertaining.

“Look, my avocado is growing.”
posted by contessa at 6:45 PM on May 3, 2010 [6 favorites]


A quote:

"I can't imagine being somebody else. [...] I don't know anything about anybody else, people that I've known all my life - my family, my brothers - I don't know... I only know about me."

and that's why I love watching and reading about Christopher Walken. People hire Walken to play Walken and he knows it and goes with it.

... of course, I hate it when Hollywood does that with any other actor, so maybe that's not the real reason I love him.
posted by komara at 6:49 PM on May 3, 2010


Walken doesn’t use a computer. “The Internet is strange,” he said. “There’s stuff on the Internet about me. I’ve tried to find out who puts it there. Something about how I go around to hot-dog festivals, that I’m a champion hot-dog eater.”

Oh my God, he's talking about "Walken in L.A." from The Onion, still one of the funniest things ever written.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:57 PM on May 3, 2010 [7 favorites]


Oh, what I would give to hear Christopher Walken utter the word avocado.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:57 PM on May 3, 2010


I'm glad Roger Ebert got his voice back with that computerized replication machine, but I know there are tens of thousands of people who would pay good money to get that machine to do a Walken Voice, and do it right.

1. Set up a website that will read any text on a page to you in Christopher Walken's voice for $1.

2. Becomea multiillionaire.

3. Send me just 10% annually for giving you this wonderful idea.
posted by chambers at 6:59 PM on May 3, 2010 [3 favorites]


As an aside, I watched the SNL Christopher Walken special on Netflix instant watch and came across this census taker skit and I was blown away by just how funny it was. Hulu, US only, sorry
posted by Brainy at 7:00 PM on May 3, 2010 [5 favorites]


This is adorable and charmingly written. Everything he said just sounds so him in my head. I liked the details about his old neighborhood.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:02 PM on May 3, 2010


The census taker skit is pure concentrated Walken. Show it to your children. It will open them up to the wonderful world of Walken's comedy, drama, tragedy, romance and intrigue! (Cue Levar Burton Reading Rainbow moment)

If you see nothing else of his, at least give five minutes to that skit. You will never regret it.
posted by chambers at 7:13 PM on May 3, 2010


Christopher Walken has a cat! What I wouldn't give to hear him talking to his cat for a day. Adorable article.

Come to think of it, maybe he has just cat food. And a cat door. I wouldn't put it past him.

I saw At Close Range and was terrified of Christopher Walken until I saw him as The Continental. Then I was simultaneously attracted to him and terrified by him. Now I just agree that he is all kinds of awesome.
posted by theredpen at 7:26 PM on May 3, 2010


Yeah, this was a weirdly memorable highlight of the recent issue. There is something so compelling about CW that it should be in the DSM. I would spend quality time just to listen to him read the weather at three am. I think it may be that he epitomizes what seems to me to be self-contendedness and delight in the everyday.
posted by docpops at 7:43 PM on May 3, 2010


Come to think of it, maybe he has just cat food. And a cat door. I wouldn't put it past him.

:D

He really does have a cat. I remember reading an interview in which he talked about his cat, and how cool it would be if actors had tails, because they're so expressive. Can't for the life of me remember where I read it, though.
posted by zarq at 7:50 PM on May 3, 2010


My brain does a perfect Walken impression.
posted by nathancaswell at 7:51 PM on May 3, 2010 [3 favorites]


<walken>avocados</walken>
posted by zippy at 8:03 PM on May 3, 2010 [8 favorites]


Zarq, you might be thinking of this story about Walken, as told by Jay Mohr (who does a pretty good Walken impression).
posted by MidAtlantic at 8:40 PM on May 3, 2010 [2 favorites]


In stark contrast to so much material that's out there, I really wanted this to be longer.

Thanks a ton for the post.
posted by yiftach at 8:59 PM on May 3, 2010


Christopher Walken stars in Puss in Boots - yes, he plays puss. It's from the eighties, I believe. Free, on Hulu, right now.
posted by amtho at 9:05 PM on May 3, 2010 [3 favorites]


Holy cow, amtho, I am loving that.

"Get me some boots!"
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:34 PM on May 3, 2010




I'm not even a huge Walken fan, but this is adorable.

He paused. “Oh, there’s somebody there. I wonder if she’d let us in. Probably she’ll call the cops.”
The woman in the apartment was looking out her window at Christopher Walken.
“Hello, hello! I used to live here,” he said to the window.


I would happily read an entire book of Peter Stevenson following Christopher Walken around New York, as long as it were all like this.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 10:30 PM on May 3, 2010 [2 favorites]


As much as I enjoyed my short time in Brooklyn, I almost wish I'd lived and worked in Queens instead, just for the chance, just the chance, that I'd be making rice or something and have Christopher Walken look in the kitchen window and come in to talk about how he'd had his diaper changed on my table.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:43 PM on May 3, 2010


I have a sudden urge of painting baby Walken on a kitchen table next to a plate of scrambled eggs.
posted by dabitch at 2:24 AM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


Kyung called over an employee. “You know who this is, Mario? This is Christopher Walken! ‘Batman’? ‘The Deer Hunter’?” Mario gave a polite nod. “This is a legend!” Kyung said. “A powerhouse—right here!”
Walken said, “You people are great. You’re the best.”


If he'd said "More cowbell!" this would have been a police report.
posted by hal9k at 2:57 AM on May 4, 2010


Very cool and he seems very genuine, approachable, and sweet.

I hate going back to my home. Parents still live there. It went from a decent, lower-middle class, Blue collar neighborhood to gang infested, bars on the windows, graffiti garages, burned down houses, etc. I hate that they live there. I hate even more that my neighborhood went to shit.
posted by stormpooper at 7:16 AM on May 4, 2010


Let's Misbehave
posted by xod at 7:45 AM on May 4, 2010


Fun, but it's no chicken with pears.
posted by Evilspork at 8:19 AM on May 4, 2010 [2 favorites]


Then we'll see who doesn't like hot dogs.

Jesus H. Awesome.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:21 AM on May 4, 2010


I would happily read an entire book of Peter Stevenson following Christopher Walken around New York, as long as it were all like this.

I read this as "Parker Stevenson" and I instantly though of some bizarre crossover, glorious between the Hardy Boys and the Dead Zone. I wonder what Shaun Cassidy is doing these days?
posted by entropicamericana at 9:00 AM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


This is the classic Walken-does-normal-things article.

http://www.observer.com/node/43374
posted by mobunited at 10:18 AM on May 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


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