Back when Christopher Walken first hosted the show, he must have come off as something of a wild card. After all, the films that he was known for at the time were all pretty dark, his turn as Annie Hall's brother notwithstanding. But they needed have worried, because Walken has a background in vaudeville, and is probably more qualified than half the people that were on the show at the time. Nowadays, every time Christopher Walken is scheduled to host Saturday Night Live, all the writers must just let out a sigh of relief. They could write pretty much anything and Walken would be able to sell it. He has a very particular, idiosyncratic way of talking that wrings every ounce of comedic gold out of a scene. Just take a moment and think of how many of the show's all-time classics involved him. Who could forget his sketch with Blue Oyster Cult, where he was forced to demand more cowbell from the unwilling band, and had Jimmy Fallon gnawing on his drumsticks to keep from laughing (not that Fallon's, you know, great at keeping a straight face, but still)? Or the recurring Continental skits, which are basically just Walken being Walken and trying to seduce the camera? As far as SNL hosts go, Walken is the gold standard -- he's a reliable performer who is consistently hilarious. One could almost go so far as to say that he's a writer-proof actor.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
