Veteran actor Christopher Walken started his career as a child actor in the 1950s, and had a storied career; his modern work, however, is most known due to his recurring host position on the popular sketch show, Saturday Night Live. However, before he was on Saturday Night Live, Walken got the leading role in Stephen King and David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone in 1983.
Ever since then, Walken has occasionally lent his talents to the horror scene, such as his portrayal of the gruesome Headless Horseman in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999). An all-around talent, Walken can juggle dramatic roles just as easily as he does bawdy comedy, such as he showcased in Joe Dirt. Truly, Walken is one of those actors who has lent his talents in just about every avenue, though he’s known for comedy in modern times. His origins began in dramatic roles, and he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Deer Hunter (1978).
Most actors experiment with different genres, and few have seemed to traverse the nuances of each like Christopher Walken, who made the jump from dramatic roles to horror with his role in The Dead Zone just before he became a household name on Saturday Night Live through a series of iconic sketches that still hold up today, such as his “more cowbell” sketch with Will Ferrell.
Christopher Walken Started In Horror Before Saturday Night Live
The Dead Zone was a movie based on Stephen King’s 1979 novel of the same name. The movie was directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly), and starred Walken as Johnny Smith. Smith was a schoolteacher who got into a car accident on a stormy night, then went into a coma. After five years, he awakened to discover he had psychic abilities, which made him able to learn about a person through physical contact. At one point in the film, Smith shakes hands with a political candidate and finds out that this man will go on to become President and order a strike against the Soviet Union, which would result in a nuclear holocaust. Smith then resolves to kill him to ensure this fate cannot come to pass.
The overall premise of The Dead Zone is similar to a “butterfly effect” notion where just because someone can do something doesn’t mean they should. Smith struggles with doing the right thing, given the knowledge only he is privy to; this ability to glimpse into the future and see what will come to pass is a dangerous gift that ultimately results in his own death. Smith ends up being fatally wounded when he tries to murder said politician to avoid what he foresaw. Walken’s enigmatic charisma lends itself well to this style of story, but also speaks to his capabilities as an actor to turn from goofy to serious in one, fell swoop.
Though Walken’s career has been prominent for over fifty years, younger generations know him from his more modern work, such as Wayne’s World, Pulp Fiction, and Saturday Night Live, where he became the first member of the elusive “five-timers” club. Typically, this accolade goes to cast alumni, but anyone who has hosted five times gets inducted. Tom Hanks was the founding member, and Walken was the first to join. Walken didn’t get his start in horror like other major actors, but he is an iconic part of the Stephen King adaptation legacy with his spectacular contribution to the The Dead Zone, which he even spoofed once on Saturday Night Live.
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