NEW YORK — With his role in the Apple TV+ seriesSeverance, Christopher Walken finally got to do the one thing he’s never done in his acting career: get the girl.
“I’ve never … I can’t think of a movie where I got the girl,” the 81-year-old Oscar winner reflected recently in an interview. “In this case, I get the guy. That’s nice.”
In Severance, which returned for its long-awaited second season last month, Walken plays Burt, a faithful company man who falls for his co-worker Irving (John Turturro).
The Emmy-winning series, which is executive produced and directed by Ben Stiller, follows a group of office workers (Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro and Zach Cherry) who have undergone a surgical procedure that allows them to divide the memories their work selves (“innies”) have from the ones in their personal lives (“outies”).
Walken’s Burt was a fan-favourite during the first season as viewers became obsessed with the blossoming romance between him and Irving nicknaming the pair “Birving.”
After he retired to return to his life as a full-time “outie,” Burt’s fate outside the walls of Lumon’s midcentury office remained a mystery until he returned this week for a new story arc.
Walken was tight-lipped about what lies ahead for his character as the rest of the season plays out.
“I haven’t seen Season 2 … Who knows what’s going to happen?” he smiled. “You never know. They sit in the writers’ room and wonder, ‘What would happen if this occurred?’”
Despite racking up over 120 film credits, Walken, who won an Oscar for his role in 1978’s The Deer Hunter and nominated for another Academy Award for 2002’s Catch Me If You Can, has appeared in very few television projects outside of a handful of TV movies and seven hosting stints on Saturday Night Live.
But in addition to relishing a chance to play a character who “got the girl,” he said he was drawn to Severance because of the ensemble cast and working with Stiller, whose parents (Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller) he had collaborated with.
Walken eschews modern technology. He doesn’t stream (Apple sends him DVDs to watch), claims to have never sent an email and doesn’t own a cellphone. But he’s still one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors.
Last year, after a four-year break from the big screen, he appeared as Shaddam Corrino IV, aka the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe, in Dune: Part Two.
Walken was encouraged to return for Dune because he liked Denis Villeneuve’s movies and the filming location in Budapest, which he told Vanity Fair“is a beautiful city.”
Severance, on the other hand, was filmed close to where he resides in upstate New York and that had it’s own benefits.
“It all happened near where I live, so … it was copacetic,” he said.
With Burt returning for an unspecified number of new episodes this week, Walken spoke more about why at this stage of his career he’s been drawn to TV, watching Ben Stiller grow up and what stood out to him about Severance.
This show came out of the blue in 2022 and blew everyone way. You must get a lot of scripts. What was it about Severance that appealed to you so much?
It was with people I’ve known a long time and like very much. Ben Stiller I’ve known since he was a teenager. I was friends with his mom and dad. John Turturro I met when he was a young actor in New York 40 years ago. Then there was the script. It was interesting and kind of a mysterious mixture of things.
What stood out to you about the character of Burt?
It was unique for me because I play a lot of villains and bad guys and he’s a nice man. It’s romantic. He has a love interest.
That was different for me. I racked my brain trying to think if you’ve done something like this.
I think you’re right. I never have.
You’ve done all sorts of genres on the big screen, but very little on television. Was TV something you looked at and thought you wanted to get involved in?
People talk about actors making choices. I haven’t really made choices. I’ve simply taken the next best thing that came along. I think that’s what most actors do, if they’re lucky enough to work. I got into TV, I suppose, because screens have changed. When I was young, people went to movies. When I was kid, you’d go in at 10 in the morning and came out at 4 in the afternoon. You’d see three features, 25 cartoons and one of those episodic things. Now, people watch movies on a cellphone. The whole business has changed.
Is there a trait you’re looking for when you’re deciding to play a character?
No. I take what comes next.
You’ve worked with John Turturro a number of times. What’s that chemistry like?
We’re old friends … I’ve known him a long time … That translates into believing we’re a couple. The way that you can look at people and see they’re together … I think that shows.
Ben Stiller has done some fantastic work both in front of and behind the camera. What’s it like being directed by him?
He’s a wonderful director. He gives the feeling to the actors that we’ll do it until we get it right. Sometimes you come in and you’re not quite getting it and it takes a little time to get your balance and he allows for that. He’s a great director to work with.