1978 Review of Christopher Walken in Deer Hunter

If Christopher Walken were not such an experienced actor, he might well qualify as Rookie of the Year. Until he won the New York Film Critics Award last weeK for best supporting actor, he had been a fairly unfamiliar face to movie audiences, even though he had won numerous awards for his work on the stage.

But in “The Deer Hunter,” Mr. Walken does his first real movie‐star turn, bringing virtuoso technique and glamour to a character who is, in effect, the film's romantic hero. His performance is so utterly persuasive that his own parents, after watching the film and its brutal finale, rushed off to a telephone to make sure their son was still in one piece.

Perched nervously in an armchair in his agent's apartment recently, Mr. Walken talked about “The Deer Hunter” with fondness and a touch of amazement. But he sounded surprisingly modest about his own accomplishments in the film.

“On the stage I know what I'm doing,” he said, “but in films I have to depend on the kindness of strangers.” Kindest of them all was Michael Cimino, the director, who astonished the actor by casting him in the film's second leading role.

From “Movies ‘Discover’ Christopher Walken” by Janet Maslin for the New York Times, Dec. 26, 1978 upon the release of Deer Hunter

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