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Yes, Christopher Walken is really like that. He talks that way. He dresses in all black. He can just end a thought abruptly and leave you hanging there waiting, but never jumping in to add anything else. It's intense but it's also a hell of a lot of fun. It seems anything is fair game, so you can have a Christopher Walken conversation with Christopher Walken. This occasion was for the movie Hairspray, in which he plays Wilbur Turnblad. His wife, Edna, is played by John Travolta.

Crave Online: You have such a famous and distinctive voice. How did you tweak it for the Baltimore accent?

Christopher Walken: I didn’t know there was a Baltimore accent. People have told me it was a good Baltimore accent, but I had no idea.

Crave Online: Why does your voice fascinate people so much?

Christopher Walken: I don't know. I come from a certain part of New York. Queens. And the truth is that that's the way that people talk there.

Crave Online: Who does the best Christopher Walken impression?

Christopher Walken: I don’t know. My wife says it’s Kevin Spacey.

Crave Online: When did you realize that the Christopher Walken impression was the holy grail for comedians?

Christopher Walken: I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I do remember at some point people started doing that. It's nice. For me it's nice. Sometimes when people do it I don't even know.

Crave Online: Jay Mohr tells the story about talking to you about whether you'd rather have a tail or be able to fly. Is that a true story?

Christopher Walken: Oh, yeah. I remember that. I was talking to him and I said how great it would be if actors had a tail because I have animals and a tail is so expressive. On a cat you can everything. You can tell if they're annoyed. You can tell whether they're scared. They bush their tail. If I was an actor and I had to play scared in a movie all I'd have to do is bush my tail or if you were mad at someone you just go like this. I think that if actors had tails it would change everything.

Crave Online: Do you have any other sort of philosophical questions?

Christopher Walken: No. That's about it.

Crave Online: What do you miss most about the 60s, if anything?

Christopher Walken: Well, it’s all so personal. When I would have been in this time of America, that’s tough especially for guys. Out of school, driver’s license, the draft, that too.

Crave Online: What was it like being John Travolta’s husband?

Christopher Walken: It was great. It was me and John rehearsing a few weeks for the dancing and of course, sitting around and getting to know each other. Then when it came to do it, he put on that outfit and it was stunning to see that but in five or 10 minutes, he was just John again. I think that he and I in the movie were more Chris and John more than Wilbur and Edna. I liked him a lot and we got along very well and I think that comes off.

Crave Online: In your song and dance with Michelle Pfeiffer, was it hard to choreography with the props?

Christopher Walken: Yeah and it was rehearsed. The props were almost part of the dance. Whether you rehearse a dance differently than a scene, you talk about what it is you’re talking about. When you’re acting, it’s more like what do I want? Were are we? In a dance rehearsal, it has a lot to do with repetition and you just do it and do it until you don’t think about it anymore. That’s the whole point really and the props were just part of the dance.

Crave Online: The style of the '60s is so cool, are you drawn to that?

Crave Online: No, I like my current outfit. But I had that clothing and outfits, sure. When this movie happened, I would have been about 18, right about out of high school. The cars had the big fins and the people had huge hair. Hair was a big deal. Hair has evolved into something else. People in my neighborhood, everybody had big hair. Hairspray back then wasn’t pump hairspray. It was that aerosol thing that has been banned. But that all really was.

Crave Online: Did you ever dance on a TV show growing up?

Christopher Walken: No, but I was a professional dancer from the time I was a teenager. I was in Broadway shows and tours.

Crave Online: Are you disappointed you haven't gotten to dance more in movies?

Christopher Walken: Of course. They make a musical movie now every few years. They used to make them every week in Hollywood. Absolutely, the chance to do a movie musical is pretty rare.

Crave Online: They're going to do Catch Me If You Can as a musical on Broadway. What are your thoughts on that?

Christopher Walken: I heard that. That sounds like it could be good, depends on the music and all that.

Crave Online: Would you be interested in a part in that?

Christopher Walken: My own part? I’d have to read the script and hear the music. Musicals as you know, to me, the first thing I say is well, let’s hear the music.

Crave Online: How about just in general, just doing Broadway since there’s a lot more musical opportunity there than in film?

Christopher Walken: I did, but probably nobody knows this, but I’ve been on the stage much more than I’ve ever been in movies but I did that the first 35-40 years of my life. But I’ve been on the stage a lot. I’ve played some of the great roles, twice or three times. I didn’t play them well, but I played them. [Laughs] I’ve learned a lot of lines in my day. And to be honest, nowadays if you work in the theater, people are taking your picture, they’re answering their phones. The bloom is off the rose for me a little bit. I remember the old days. I have a friend who was in a play and had good seats in the orchestra. The curtain went up and 10 minutes into the play, it was a big star in the play and hadn’t come on yet, and this woman answers her phone and my friend heard her say, "No, he hasn’t come on yet, but when he comes on I’ll call you." So this is what it is.

Crave Online: And the theaters are all mic-ed now so you don’t have to project anymore.

Christopher Walken: Well, I guess that makes it easier although I have seen actors particularly in England who don’t need that.

Crave Online: When you first got the script for Hairspray, what kind of faith did you have in the music and your co-stars?

Christopher Walken: Well, I heard the music first and I hadn’t seen the musical, but I had seen the John Waters movie. And I had the script. You know, it seemed like a good part. But mostly, when they say that John Travolta is in it, Michelle Pfeiffer is in it, there’s all these really good kids, Queen Latifah is in it, right away you think, "I must pay attention."

Crave Online: It’s also great to see you in comedy these days. Are you surprised that you’re getting so much work considering that you were known as such an intense dramatic actor?

Christopher Walken: That’s interesting and to me too. Well, it’s a lucky thing that I was able to evolve into something. [Laughs] I don’t mean to get heavy but I always thought that there was a real serious link between what’s funny and what’s scary. It’s just my theory. I think that the fact they’re related.

Crave Online: Since you do have a sense of humor about yourself, does that mean you’re fearless in the way you think about life?

Christopher Walken: That’s an interesting connection. I was thinking more about the things that make us laugh and get us nervous too. But you mean thinking things are funny and being fearless. I think you’re right. I’m not that fearless. In fact, I’m scared of everything and consequently I’m not really very scared of anything but I only do that by being very scared of everything, especially of mundane things. I get very nervous sitting in a car. I’m the guy with the seatbelt on. I’m the guy who says, “Put your seatbelt on." I’m the guy who doesn’t like to go out of the hotel and wander because I’m always looking the wrong way. [Laughs] I’m like that. I’m afraid of germs.

Crave Online: So do you carry around antibacterial gel?

Christopher Walken: No, no, I’m not that scared of germs. [Laughs]

Crave Online: One of your upcoming movies, Balls of Fury sounds really funny. Can you tell us about it?

Christopher Walken: I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. It’s bizarre, for me anyway. I play a Chinese war lord who has an international ping pong championship to the death. So there you are.

Crave Online: Do you do a Chinese accent?

Christopher Walken: No I don’t. I’m all dressed up that way but I do my usual. Yeah, picture it.

Crave Online: Are people intimidated by you?

Christopher Walken: No. I don't think so, but 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 some times. I think that it'd be interesting for me to play something really different like, you know, like that show, Father Knows Best. I'd have sons and they come to me and say, "Dad, what do you think should do?" I'd say, "Well, son," and I'd have a pipe and say, "Just try and do the right thing." That would be a good part. Or if I played a psychiatrist maybe. I'd like to play a psychiatrist.