Off the Cuff: Christopher Walken on ‘Stand Up Guys’ and the Joys of Acting
Christopher Walken is a man of many roles, including his latest in the new film Stand Up Guys, which opens in theaters today. Peter Travers welcomed the Oscar winning actor to the Rolling Stone offices to talk about the movie, in which Walken teams with fellow Oscar winners Al Pacino and Alan Arkin, and who he really is.
“You were the son of a baker, you were a lion tamer and then, somehow, you got into acting,” marvels Travers. Later, he asks, “When you’re sitting on a set with [Pacino and Arkin], how many times do your Oscars come up?”
“We carry them,” Walken replies. “We don’t have to talk about it.” Walken jokes that actors don’t talk about acting, but instead chat about restaurants, movies, cooking and plenty of other things. “Working with actors, there is absolutely a playground, sandbox aspect to it. It’s play,” says Walken. “And no matter what it’s about, whether it’s very dark or funny, it doesn’t make any difference.”
Stand Up Guys stars Pacino as Val, a criminal recently released from prison. He reunites with his old partner, Doc (Walken), who he discovers has been ordered to kill him.