With over 100 films under his belt,Christopher Walkenis among Hollywood’s most respected and prolific actors. FromhostingSaturday Night Liveto appearing in multiple Shakespeare plays, includingHamlet,Macbeth,Romeo and Juliet,andCoriolanus, he is a man of great talent and range.
With such an impressive body of work, it’s sometimes the case that his comedic output is sadly overlooked but with his unique style, one-of-a-kind voice and tonal cadence, and impeccable comic timing, he has provided audiences with some undeniably hilarious moments over the years.
Below, we take a look at Walken’s 10 funniest performances.
10Wayne’s World 2
The firstWayne’s World, based on anSNLskit, was riotously fun, silly, and over the top, and was a huge success, so naturally that same feel was brought to the sequel, only this time it was cranked to 11. Whilst most of the humor comes from the chemistry between the two amiably aimless leads, played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, Christopher Walken’s portrayal of the straight counterpart, producer Bobby Cahn, provides plenty of laughs throughoutWayne’s World 2, especially one particular scene in which he demonstrates his smooth dancing abilities.
Related:These Are the Best Christopher Walken Performances, Ranked
Produced by andstarring Adam Sandler, the 2006 comedyClickhas a fantastic premise in which an average man is given a remote control that allows him to control his life and surroundings. Just like it would with a television, he is able to mute parts, turn the volume down, and even fast-forward moments he doesn’t like? Sounds like every man’s dream, right?
Well, he finds out the hard way that, unlike with a television, his actions have long-lasting consequences. Walken stars as the mysterious stranger (who also happens to be the Angel of Death), who provides the character with this magical set of remote controls. Here, he revels in eccentricity and oddness providing some of the most memorable moments of the movie.
8Hairspray
Based on both a 1988 film and a 2002 stage adaptation, 2007’sHairspraystars Nikki Blonsky in the lead role with an all-star cast including Amanda Bynes, John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and the then-teen musical icon Zac Efron. While a lot of attention was grabbed by Travolta in his gender-bending role of the larger-than-life Edna Turnblad, Walken is suitably funny as the Ying to her Yang in the role of the easy-going patriarch Wilbur. He plays the role with equal parts humor and heart.
7Weapon of Choice
An interesting entry in that it is not actually a performance from a TV show or movie, but in fact from the music video to British dance act Fatboy Slim’s 2000 song “Weapon of Choice.” After decades of building a reputation as one of Hollywood’s finest actors starring in multiple dramatic roles and gangster flicks, Walken takes all expectations and throws them out the window, as he delivers some surprisingly good and oftenhilarious dance moves, all while wearing his trademark formal attire. Viewers loved to see Walken so gleefully playing against type and the video was a huge hit, winning the Grammy for Best Music Video as well as numerous MTV Video Music Awards.
6Stepford Wives
Stepford Wivesis a dark satire that explores what would happen if men could use technology to enhance their wives to meet their every desire. Walken plays the Men’s Association leader, who is keen to explain to potential punters how “The Female Improvement System” works with the aid of an unbelievably cringe-worthy and cheesy demonstration video in which he awkwardly explains the process while somehow keeping a straight face. It’s this commitment throughout to the ongoing absurdity that makes his performance so funny yet kind of sinister at the same time.
5"More Cowbell" SNL Sketch
One of the most beloved and enduringSNLskits of all time also just so happens to feature one of Walken’s funniest performances. The sketch centers around American rock band Blue Oyster Cult, played here bySNLcast members including Will Ferrell and Jimmy Fallon. It’s set up like a scene from VH1’sBehind the Musicand focuses on the recording of their hit song “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”
In it, Walken plays producer Bruce Dickinson, who, here, has an unnatural affinity for the use of the cowbell in the song. No matter how hard they try, he insists the cowbell needs to feature more prominently and be played with more gusto by Ferrell’s character. The ridiculousness is what makes it so darn funny, and Walken pulls it off perfectly, full of strange quotes and delivered with unfaltering enthusiasm. Walken himself has claimed that over 20 years after it first aired, it’s still the performance that is brought up around him more than any other.
Related:Chris Tucker’s Funniest Performances, Ranked
4Blast From the Past
The intriguing premise ofBlast from the Pastis based on an American family who believes the country is under imminent threat of a nuclear attack and thus retire to a homemade bunker in which they are able to survive in for 35 years. During that time period, they never once venture to the surface, but when they finally do re-enter civilization during the peak-90s, they are in for the shock of their lives as they witness how society has evolved after leaving them stuck in 1962. Walken, in particular, who plays the family’s patriarch, has some priceless reactions to the “depravities” he witnesses in this new world he has found himself in.
3Wedding Crashers
Wedding Crashersis one of the funniest movies of the last 20 years. Nearly every character is well-developed and responsible for some sidesplitting moments of hilarity, and Walken’s no-nonsense U.S. Secretary William Cleary is no different. Old-fashioned yet good-hearted, his po-faced blunt delivery and his failure to fully connect and understand his children, especially his “arty” son, despite his best efforts, provides the movie with some of its funniest parts.
2Seven Psychopaths
Seven Psychopathsis a wonderfully twisted black comedy from themind of Martin McDonagh, about a man trying to come up with the perfect screenplay. Looking for inspiration he looks to his oddball mates Hans (Walken) and Billy (Sam Rockwell), who make a living by kidnapping rich people’s dogs, then returning them and collecting the reward. However, their most recent dognap goes awry when it transpires the owner is a certified psychopath. Full of twists and turns and blood and guts and heaps of witty dialogue, much of which is provided by Walken, who delivers some of the film’s standout moments, utilizing that certain sense of eccentricity that is so unique to his acting style.
1Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 masterpiecePulp Fictionis widely regarded as being among thegreatest movies ever made. With a ridiculously strong cast featuring the likes of John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, and Samuel L. Jackson, and some many memorable scenes and quotable lines, it’s hard to believe that a character with under 5 minutes of total screen time could stand out.
But, somehow, Walken manages to — and then some — in what has to be one of the greatest monologues in film history. He explains to a child, in great detail, how his late father’s watch had been kept safe for many years while he fought and was captured in the war. He managed to get a hold of the watch and was, too, able to keep it safe. Completely straight-faced, he clarifies that the way to keep it safe was to hide it somewhere on their naked person where no one was able to get too…then proudly hands said watch to the child.
