His father fled Germany, opened a bakery in Queens, and raised a son who would become one of the most unmistakable actors in Hollywood.

Born Ronald Walken in Astoria, New York, he was pushed toward show business early by his movie-obsessed mother, who sent him to dance school as a child. He worked on live television, performed in theater, and even spent part of his teens helping with a circus lion act before a nightclub performer started calling him Christopher, a name he decided to keep.

Years later, The Deer Hunter made him a star and won him an Oscar, but Walken never became predictable. He built a career playing everyone from haunted soldiers to eccentric villains, turning his unusual voice, timing, and presence into something completely his own..

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