The minute I start to talk about acting, I realize that I can't. You know, it's an abstract thing, a little bit mysterious even if you do it for a living. Christopher Walken More Quotes by Christopher Walken More Quotes From Christopher Walken When I was a kid, my parents gave me piano lessons and guitar lessons for a while, but I was never very good at it. I have big, sort of awkward hands. It's hard to keep going when you don't get any better. Christopher Walken guitar kids hands Also for me it was different because I play a lot of villains and in this one I play a dad and I play a good guy, basically. He's the Secretary of the Treasury. I never had a job like that. Christopher Walken dad play jobs You hear about things happening to people - they slip in the bathtub, fall down the stairs, step off the curb in London because they think that the cars come the other way - and they die. You feel you want to die making an effort at something; you don't want to die in some unnecessary way. Christopher Walken people fall thinking 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. Christopher Walken bombing scary knows Yeah, well I've always played comedy. My background is musical comedy theatre and that's really where my training is. As an actor, that's my training. Christopher Walken training theatre musical I come from a show-business family, so wanting to become an actor never crossed my mind. It was just a part of my life. Christopher Walken actors shows mind 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. Christopher Walken quirky annoying scripts Both my parents had heavy accents, and so did everybody they knew. It's a rhythm thing - people who speak English where they have to hesitate and think of the right word. And I think it rubbed off. Christopher Walken speak-english people thinking I've been married for 46 years, and I live in a nice house, my grass is always cut, I pay my bills, and my cat loves me! Christopher Walken cat cutting nice An actor really is a kind of intermediary between an audience and the piece, whether it's a play or movie. Christopher Walken movie actors play Even in the limo, I buckle my seatbelt. I got that seatbelt on before the car moves. Christopher Walken limos car moving Emotional power is maybe the most valuable thing that an actor can have. Christopher Walken valuable emotional actors My favorite characters are the ones that are the most successful movies. Christopher Walken movie successful character There's not a lot of talking between actors - either between actors or between actors and directors. People think that they sit in rooms and talk about psychology and motivations. I don't think that happens much. Christopher Walken motivation talking thinking If I show somebody something that I've written and they say, "Eh...alright," I just put it away and I never show it to anyone again. But I know people who won't take no for an answer, and eventually someone pays attention. Christopher Walken answers attention people 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. Christopher Walken new-york people way If you're an actor, a hard thing is to stick around, to stay viable. I try to do that by taking the opportunity to do something different every once in awhile. Christopher Walken different opportunity trying 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. Christopher Walken hobbies kids travel I have a lot of trouble with scripts. I have a lot of trouble imagining things while I'm reading them. Christopher Walken scripts reading trouble I don't know why people eat so badly. I could eat pasta all the time, but it really is fattening. And I love ice cream, but I can't do that. There was a time, until I was in my mid-forties, when I could eat a whole pizza - and really, no effect. Christopher Walken pasta ice-cream people
