So perhaps it’s fitting that the star of The deer hunter And Catch me if you can is a huge Elvis nut. Her iconic hair is actually a tribute to the king. In an interview with The New York TimesWalken opened up about the moment he first laid eyes on his future idol. “There was this girl named Janice,” he recalled. “I guess I was 15. I was crazy about this girl. I finally found the courage to ask her to dance.

Walken recounted how Janice told him she would love to join him, but that she already had a boyfriend – an “older man” who wouldn’t appreciate her dancing with anyone else. “She showed me a picture of this guy. He was incredibly handsome. I said, ‘Wait a second. It’s not a photo. You cut this out of a magazine. I invite you to dance. What is this? Will you give me this jazz? She said, “It’s true. It’s this singer. His name is Elvis and I’m crazy about him. I said, “Forget it. You don’t even know him. Let’s go to the ball.‘”

Ultimately, Janice accompanied young Christopher that evening, but even though she didn’t stay in his life, the singer in the photo did. “I got a glimpse of Elvis and his hair,” Walken said. “That’s where it all started. Elvis was fabulous. I wish I knew Elvis. I bet he was nice. That’s where the obsession began, which eventually led Walken to write a play about the Memphis legend called Him. He also starred in the production (naturally), which told the story of Elvis in the afterlife.

It was a surreal vision of one of the most famous deaths in pop culture history – the one that imagined Elvis fleeing to Morocco to undergo sex reassignment surgery – and, sadly, it was criticized by most critics.

When asked what he would say to his hero if he ever met him, Walken became melancholic over the star’s untimely demise. “I wouldn’t want to ask him anything,” he said. “I would just sit with him. I was very upset by his death. This whole pill thing… It was too easy for Elvis to get these pills. He didn’t take care of himself, of all those cheeseburgers. He should have eaten better. I think Elvis needed a good wife. Someone to say: “Elvis, enough.” He was special. He was different. Poor old Elvis.

In addition to Elvis, the actor also explained that sometimes a role he agrees to play is suddenly “Walkenized” before filming begins. “All of a sudden I’ll get a little goofier or wild,” he said. “I prefer to play the role I have prepared for. I don’t like surprises.

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