Happy Birthday Christopher Walken, born today in March 1943.

Walken was a dancer in variety and musicals before he became a respected (and much loved) actor starring in such films as The Deerhunter, The Dead Zone, The Comfort of Strangers, The King of New York, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, The Prophecy Trilogy, Wild Side, The Addiction, The Funeral, Sleepy Hollow, Hairspray, and most recently Turks and Caicos.

It’s fair to say that if Mr Walken’s name is attached to any movie, you know it’s going to be fun—well, at least when he’s on screen. You might not like what happens before or after, but once he appears, you know the movie sings. Who can forget his scenes with Dennis Hopper in True Romance? Or, the casual soft shoe shuffle in King of New York? Or, his bravura dancing to Fat Boy Slim’s promo for “Weapon Of Choice”?

Such is his popularity that when an Internet forum ran a hoax Christopher Walken for President campaign, it seemed almost believable, and I’m sure there would have been quite a few people out there who would have given a big ‘X’ to Mr. W. had it been real.

Walken is so likable, so watchable, and seems such an interesting character (he likes cats and pineapple, and his mother came from Glasgow, where he still has relatives) that it’s unusual to find an interview with him that hasn’t had at least a zillion views, so I was rather delighted to find these three clips of the great man talking about his career as an actor, his acting techniques, and how he like to improvise.