![\"Christopher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Christopher-Walken-in-\u2018King-of-New-York-Abel-Ferrara-1990-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Carolco Pictures \/ <\/p>\n
Sun 19 July 2026 9:00, UK <\/p>\n
Good actors find inspiration everywhere, even in the strangest of places that you wouldn\u2019t expect. Just look at Christopher Walken<\/a>, who cites a certain animated character as one of his biggest influences.\u00a0<\/p>\n The actor has lived a wild life, even taming lions at one point, but once he found real success on the silver screen in the 1970s, there was no turning back\u2026 1978\u2019s The Deer Hunter proved to be a monumental moment in Walken\u2019s career, with the star taking home an Oscar for his performance \u2013 in a way, this was truly the beginning for the actor, who\u2019d go on to become one of the most reliable character actors of all time.\u00a0<\/p>\n He went on to appear in everything from Pulp Fiction<\/a> to Severance, picking up another Oscar nomination for Catch Me If You Can on the way. But what many people don\u2019t know is that Walken often channels Bugs Bunny when he\u2019s acting \u2013 although he has never revealed which projects in particular have been inspired by the beloved carrot-munching cartoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Walken] said that Bugs Bunny is one of his favourite actors ever,\u201d Ben Stiller once said on the Severance podcast. \u201cAnd he was saying this kind of [thing] with a twinkle in his eye, but not really. And he said, \u2018A lot of times I\u2019ve played roles as if I was Bugs Bunny, but nobody knew.\u2019 Now, which character, which movie, we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n The actor truly adores the character, who was first introduced in the late 1930s, although his first official appearance came in 1940 with a role in the short film A Wild Hare. Bugs has since become a beloved part of American pop culture, and he has long enamoured Walken, who calls him \u201cthe most interesting\u201d character of all time. <\/p>\n Reflecting on his approach to acting and how Bugs inspires him, Walken told the Los Angeles Times, \u201cThe way I do that is I read the script with an Italian accent, I read it like a certain kind of actor, I\u2019ll read it like Marlon Brando<\/a>, I\u2019ll read it like Pee-wee Herman, I\u2019ll read it like Billy Crystal \u2013 I\u2019ll very often try to get Woody Allen\u2019s rhythms.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my favourites \u2013 this is going to sound strange \u2013 but I think Bugs Bunny is one of the most interesting movie characters of all time. His rhythms, his intelligence, his attitude is very amazing. So I\u2019ll sometimes do the part like Bugs,\u201d he concluded. <\/p>\n Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n It might seem strange, but inspiration really can strike from the most unexpected of places, even that of an animated rabbit. With his Brooklyn accent, often spouting the catchphrase \u201cEh\u2026what\u2019s up Doc?\u201d, it actually makes perfect sense that Walken would find the character strangely influential. <\/p>\n I mean, it takes a really good actor to look at someone like Bugs Bunny and identify the intricacies within his characterisation and his performance (he was initially voiced by Mel Blanc) and apply that to a range of much more serious roles. Clearly, Walken knows how to adapt his influences to suit his own characters, which is why he has been able to prosper for so long in the industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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