Editing Christopher Walken (section)

===1970s===

In 1970, Walken guest starred as Navy SP Walt Kramer in ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'' season 2 episode 17, "Run, Johnny, Run". Walken also starred in the Off-Broadway production of [[Lanford Wilson]]'s ''[[Lemon Sky]]'' opposite [[Charles Durning]] and [[Bonnie Bartlett]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/18/archives/stage-immediacy-illuminates-wilsons-lemonsky.html |title=Stage: Immediacy Illuminates Wilson's 'Lemon Sky' |last=Barnes |first=Clive |date=May 18, 1970 |website=The New York Times |access-date=November 22, 2020 |quote="Christopher Walken as the nonhero, flip, baffled, charm ing, daring the audience with the author's semi‐off‐stage asides, amused and yet con cerned, is most convincing, moving from narration to ac tion with east and keeping the right distance between himself, audience and play."}}</ref> Later that year Walken received the [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Performance.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/christopher-walken-63778#Credits |title=Christopher Walken |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref>

Walken's first major studio film was [[Sidney Lumet]]'s ''[[The Anderson Tapes]]'' (1971) with [[Sean Connery]] and [[Dyan Cannon]]. In 1972's ''The Mind Snatchers'' a.k.a. ''[[The Happiness Cage]]'', Walken played his first starring role.<ref>''The Mind Snatchers'' is also known as ''The Happiness Cage'' and ''The Demon Within''.</ref> In this [[science fiction film]], which deals with [[Brainwashing|mind control]] and [[Normalization (sociology)|normalization]], he plays a [[Psychopathy|sociopathic]] U.S. soldier stationed in Germany.

[[Paul Mazursky]]'s 1976 film ''[[Next Stop, Greenwich Village]]'' had Walken, under the name "Chris Walken", playing the charismatic and promiscuous fictional poet Robert Fulmer. In [[Woody Allen]]'s 1977 film ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (in which his surname was misspelled "Wlaken" in the end credits), Walken played Duane, the borderline crazy brother of Annie Hall ([[Diane Keaton]]).<ref>He is incorrectly credited as "Christopher Wlaken" in the film's credits.</ref> Also in 1977, Walken had a minor role as [[Eli Wallach]]'s partner in [[The Sentinel (1977 film)|''The Sentinel'']]. In 1978, he appeared in ''[[Shoot the Sun Down]]'', a [[Western (genre)|western]] filmed in 1976 that costarred [[Margot Kidder]].<ref>'[http://www.walkenworks.com/sunleeds.html Interview with director David Leeds] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313121450/http://www.walkenworks.com/sunleeds.html |date=March 13, 2007}}</ref> Along with [[Nick Nolte]] and [[Burt Reynolds]], Walken was considered by [[George Lucas]] for the part of [[Han Solo]] in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'';<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/aug/20/1 |title=It could have been so different |access-date=March 25, 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Mark |last=King |date=August 20, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209060801/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/aug/20/1 |archive-date=December 9, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timburtoncollective.com/walken.html |title=Christopher Walken |access-date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526223817/http://www.timburtoncollective.com/walken.html |archive-date=May 26, 2012 }}</ref> the part ultimately went to [[Harrison Ford]].

In 1977, Walken also guest-starred in an episode of ''[[Kojak]]'' as Ben Wiley, a robber.

Walken won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for Best Supporting Actor in [[Michael Cimino]]'s 1978 film ''[[The Deer Hunter]]''. He played a Pennsylvania steelworker who was emotionally destroyed by the [[Vietnam War]]. To help achieve his character's gaunt appearance before the third act, Walken consumed only bananas, water and rice for a month.<ref name="Observer">{{cite news|url=http://www.observer.com/2009/culture/week-dvr-its-charlie-brown-christmas-plus-deer-hunter-new-world-and-brad-pitt-too|title=The Week in DVR: It's a Charlie Brown Christmas! Plus, The Deer Hunter, The New World and Brad Pitt Too|last=Vilkomerson|first=Sara|date=December 14, 2009|newspaper=The Observer|access-date=January 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215174448/http://www.observer.com/2009/culture/week-dvr-its-charlie-brown-christmas-plus-deer-hunter-new-world-and-brad-pitt-too|archive-date=December 15, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>