He was born in Queens, New York, and has been married to his wife, Georgianne Walken, since 1969.
He has been in close to a hundred movies and television shows since 1953 including The Dead Zone (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), Batman Returns (1991) True Romance (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Catch Me if You Can (2002), as well as starring in Fat Boy Slim's video "Weapon of Choice," and being George Lucas' second choice for Han Solo after Harrison Ford. He also has won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Deer Hunter (1978) where he played alongside Robert De Niro.
A graduate of the Actor's Studio, Walken initially studied to be a dancer, and tries to work a jig into every movie he's in. Recently, he tried his hand at writing and directing with Popcorn Shrimp in 2001.
He's also a common guest on Saturday Night Live where he has a recurring character and sketch called "The Continental."