Christopher Walken On Preparing For 'The Deer Hunter' | The Dick Cavett Show

talking with Christopher Walken who left college in the middle of a psychology class now before we've changed the subject when kids say to you should you stay in school or should you get out and start looking for work it's kind of hard for you to convince them as some people do that through education is more important well it's a feeling and I I did that my generation growing up by the end you remember that we were all told to be doctors and lawyers and we had to go to the school and I don't regret having having left I left in order to get back into show business and just kept going and the idea of school as a present to you was to train you for something he didn't want to do particularly angry in a way and I wasn't that that that good at it anyway I thought at some point about what I might do otherwise and I really couldn't think of anything yeah you know as with anybody you've seen a number of roles every so often you will flash a look and it'll remind me of a specific role that the scary character you played in Biloxi blues Bucky blues yes the surgeon the surgeon this is real tighteners happy yeah yeah you convinced me you had a steel plate in your head and yes and you could all but I wonder if if you get tired of being described but people seemed to be almost falling all over each other to think of another way to describe whatever they see as your mysterious qualities they would have what is one description if you ran across it that he has don't hit me eyes but don't just try just try it buddy jaw can you reverse those and I guess it didn't say what your nose is saying but I think your features seem to be saying something to this writer anyway movies are very expensive to make and if you if you demonstrate through a producer that you can do something chances are you'll be asked to do it again you know pragmatic facts about the movies that you're less likely to be asked to do something that you haven't done before then it and something that you've you've been sinister things them in this type site I kind of got a ball rolling on it somewhere and it sticks I'm happy you know I'm happy about it it keeps me working and you play a variety of them The Deer Hunter was a I guess without a doubt the movie that you might say did it for you in the sense that it was not only an oscar-winning role but could have started there you know because I shot myself in the head it leaves an impression ya don't want to try this at home people still still love and restaurants people will wave at me and go yeah as long as that's what they're referring to is their way of saying hello that everybody gets that reaction the obvious question would be did you do a lot of research actors were always asked this but I know part of the answer already because of you but tell me if I'm right he found veterans did not want to talk a great deal of that maybe the ones that could have been most helpful that's true in the case of the deer hunter of course I was I hadn't I hadn't really been making movies that long and I did a lot of research since then I found that doesn't really do me much good and it's better to go with what I know but in the case of the deer hunter yes i I did I went and spoke to people and tried to you know absorbed those details but it's true that that very few wanted to talk to me about would you make it appointment with a guy and then he said I just can't talk about it yeah once he got there or would they just refuse right away as I said I don't I guess what I'm asking is what did you get into a scene where someone said you know we were I was stationed didn't I'm sorry I can't talk about it I thought I could but I can't wasn't that no it was it was just a consistent reluctance to sentiment it he had a brother Ranjan and that's it has he ever loosened up about it do you have a feeling he would like to talk about it no she only has you know I I spoke to him at the time - but now failing getting that would you then have to think well what can I use from my acting framing or what in my life corresponds to its front of you well we're talking about of course a movie that I did a long time ago a long time since I saw it but I do remember being in Bangkok and having an identical experience that I had when I was a kid and sent to summer camp I I used to go to camp once in a while and it was terrible it was only about two hours from where I lived but I thought that I'd gone to Mars and that I was never getting back and and it was something that always happened to me as a kid died I'd only need to go an hour from where I lived and I just wouldn't know where I was and and and that flashback got me very much so it's just a kind of homesickness that I related to betrayal of sending you up to camp yeah getting lost yeah are you happy with the way the post office has treated Elvis Presley yeah and it's funny you should say that I somebody just gave me a big block stamps and and in fact one of my little hobbies is is writing and I when I when I was doing Batman I had quite a lot of time just ended my trailer the movie like that's so many technical things involved it takes a long time and I got about 20 books on Elvis and wrote a play about him are we likely to see this I I wouldn't mind was it a one-act play it's it runs about an hour and a half depends on who's there bring me back to Elvis I'm with them right back you remind me to we'll be right back [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: The Dick Cavett Show

Views: 177,391

Rating: 4.897646 out of 5

Keywords: cristopher walken, christopher walken interview, christopher walken dick cavett, the dick cavett show, dick cavett, the deer hunter, christopher walken the deer hunter, batman returns, christopher walken batman returns, christopher walken natalie wood, natalie wood hbo documentary, natalie wood documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, what remains behind, natalie wood what remains behind, acting, actor, christopher walken actor, christopher walken movies

Id: VVXTNSJz27U

Length: 6min 49sec (409 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 01 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/adamsandleryabish]

He looks a lot like 2020 Christopher Walken

[u/Eternal-Testament]

Without watching this.

I imagine it goes something like this.

Walken - "I just channel my inner psychopath in a role."

Cavett - "So you just play yourself them."

But seriously. There's some actors. They ain't acting. That's just them. Walken is one of them.