Christopher Walken: "Poker Face" and a Career in Music

A short, barely more than a minute long clip of Christopher Walken reading the lyrics to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" has garnered some impressive hits on YouTube this week. Walken's deadpan delivery and odd demeanor are in perfect contrast to Gaga's wild exhortations, and the clip only gets stranger as it progresses, especially when the actor lets loose on a string of "ooh-ooh" and "ahh-ahh" noises. The video is taken from the U.K. TV show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, on which Gaga herself so memorably appeared a few months back. With interest in Walken peaking, we take a look here at some of his other excursions into the music world.

1. Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" skit



Walken is perfectly cast as influential record producer Bruce Dickinson in this clip, which is one of the best-known skits in SNL history. His demand for "more cowbell" caused a small industry of T-shirts and mugs bearing the slogan to be set up, and his never-more-serious expression runs in direct contrast to Jimmy Fallon, who could not keep a straight face throughout.

2. Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice" (video)



Of all the great acting roles Walken has filled, very few of them tapped into the fact that he is an excellent dancer. Fortunately, Spike Jonze rectified that with the video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice," which features the actor cavorting across the screen in spectacular fashion. The part where he literally flies through the air around the three-minute mark remains one of the greatest moments in music video history.

3. Madonna "Bad Girl" (video)



Would you want Christopher Walken to be your guardian angel? Apparently Madonna did, and employed him in the role for this video from her Erotica album. Walken's spectacularly unpredictable career path also caused him to appear in Madge's Sex book, but this video finds him back on safer territory, with Se7en director David Fincher even getting him to pull off a few dance moves towards the end of the clip.

4. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (live in 1988)



In 1988, PBS decided to hold a tribute to George Gershwin. Somewhere along the line, a producer thought it would be a good idea to get Walken to perform a cover of "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and...it's surprisingly great. The actor is surrounded by writhing, slow-dancing couples, sports a very natty mustache, and tries as hard as he can to fight off the giggles, earning huge applause from the audience at the close of the song.