Since his breakthrough , Walken has appeared in films in various genres, both in lead and supporting roles. He has also provided voice work for the animated films Antz and The Jungle Book More recently, he has starred in television series The Outlaws — , and Severance — , the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nomination.
He has guest-hosted Saturday Night Live seven times. His roles on the show include record producer Bruce Dickinson in the " More Cowbell " sketch, the disgraced Confederate officer Colonel Angus, and multiple appearances as an aging, unsuccessful lothario in the Continental sketch.
He also wrote and played the lead role in the play Him , about his idol Elvis Presley. He was raised Methodist. When he was 15, a girlfriend showed Walken a magazine photo of Elvis Presley and Walken later said, "This guy looked like a Greek god. Then I saw him on television. I loved everything about him. As a child, Walken appeared on screen as an extra in numerous anthology series and variety shows during the Golden Age of Television. During this time, he was credited as Ronnie Walken.
Over the next two years, he appeared frequently on television, and had a thriving career in theater. In , he changed his first name to Christopher at the suggestion of Monique van Vooren , who had a nightclub act in which Walken was a dancer. She believed the name suited him better than Ronnie a pet form of his given name, Ronald , which he was credited as until then.
In 's The Mind Snatchers a. The Happiness Cage , Walken played his first starring role. In , Walken also guest-starred in an episode of Kojak as Ben Wiley, a robber.
