Because the early Sixties, Steven Spielberg has helmed over 35 movies, received over 150 awards, and is considered probably the greatest administrators of all time. Lots of the movies he’s labored on, together with 1975’s Jaws, 1998’s Saving Personal Ryan, and 2018’s Prepared Participant One, have cemented his standing as a timeless Hollywood icon. Suffice to say, if in case you have a task in certainly one of Spielberg’s motion pictures, and he says the way you blew him away along with your efficiency, taking the praise in stride could be fairly a troublesome factor to do. Effectively, it appears as if Christopher Walken was in that actual state of affairs over 20 years in the past, and the then-59-year-old actor’s surprisingly nonchalant response was captured on movie.
Instantly following a scene between Frank Abagnale Sr. and his son (performed by Walken and Leonardo DiCaprio, respectively) within the early 2000s movie Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg and Walken have a fast one-on-one. The director gave the impression to be awestruck by Walken’s quick-thinking — and impassioned — dedication to the character. “Good, what you probably did was good,” Spielberg went on. “Unbelievable. Severely, Chris. That was an incredible alternative.”
After all, the Deer Hunter star needed to respect the sentiment, however was additionally distracted by one thing off-camera, in addition to wiping his nostril from the impromptu crying he had executed moments in the past. This isn’t meant to query Christopher Walken’s professionalism, however the distinction in attitudes highlights Spielberg’s shocking and candid response. Despite the fact that this behind-the-scenes clip has been uploaded to YouTube in numerous codecs (video format, reel format, and so on.), the particular version 2-disc DVD, launched on Might 6, 2003, was the primary official supply to function the memorable interplay.
The ‘Catch Me If You Can’ Scene in Query
As a lot as Spielberg going head-over-heels for Walken is a sight to see, there’s something particular about that exact scene in Catch Me If You Can as properly. DiCaprio’s Frank Abagnale Jr. is having lunch along with his father in a “fancy restaurant.” A number of the high-class eating corridor’s customs go over Abagnale’s head. The viewer can immediately see that whereas this unfamiliar setting isn’t any hazard to the daddy, there’s definitely an impostor syndrome enveloping him (one other innate capability of Walken — present, don’t inform).
These shows of extravagance start to overwhelm him when DiCaprio’s character presents him a 1965 Cadillac Deville Convertible. Only a second later (and as a protection mechanism), Frank’s father recounts a quote mentioned earlier within the movie about mice falling right into a bucket and the truth that he’s the mouse who lived (concerning his battle to be one thing on this world).
Frank Jr.’s mom is introduced up, and Frank Sr. as soon as once more talks concerning the previous — how out of 200 males in Montrichard, France, he was the one who took her residence. That is when Walken instinctively determined so as to add tears to his scene and present a glimpse of the character’s damaged facade. The world he felt most snug in is now gone. With all the pieces falling aside round him (having to shut the shop, his spouse leaving, the IRS searching him down), the recollections of a happier time are all that stay.
However having the expertise and the know-how of appearing that he does, Walken pounces on the one scene — extra particularly, the one second — and that’s, the start of the top for the character. As a lot because the film is about Frank Jr, his father (by Walken) makes a stand right here. He shortly strikes on from the teary second, shifts gears, and asks his son the place he’s flying to subsequent.
Christopher Walken Needed Extra
A substitute for his ailing life is true there in entrance of him. Frank Sr. isn’t afraid of filling himself with the fantastical life that his son has constructed, despite the fact that components of it will not be truthful. With 36 years of appearing expertise at this level, Walken expertly navigates the scene, conveying each the highs and lows of his character with ease. Spielberg observed this as properly. As made clear by much more of the BTS featurette, Walken steered that they do extra variations of the restaurant scene (Spielberg does say there have been no less than eight takes). Every take was executed in a distinct fashion, showcasing a definite aspect of Abagnale Sr.
The final clip reveals that Walken needed to do a take the place he and DiCaprio’s character speak over one another in an nearly frenzied and tense state. However the downtrodden fashion received over Spielberg. This emotionally pushed improvisation not solely dazzled the director but additionally caught the eye of some prestigious award ceremonies. Walken received Greatest Supporting Actor on the BAFTA, the Nationwide Society of Movie Critics, and the Display Actors Guild Awards. He was additionally nominated for the function of Frank Abagnale Sr. at that yr’s Academy Awards. Suffice to say, he might need solely had a brief half, however nonetheless managed to make a worthwhile influence on this crime-drama movie. Catch Me If You Can is presently out there to stream on MGM+.