These days when we think of Han Solo we think of Harrison Ford. Even as Disney tried to introduce a younger version of the character with Alden Ehrenreich, (had to look this guy we didn’t even know who he was) in Solo a Star Wars Story it’s pretty safe to say that Harrison Ford is and will be Han Solo for life. That being said, in an alternate universe, we could’ve had Christopher Walken take on the character in the original movies. The problem was, according to himself, he completely bombed the audition!
Was Walken George Lucas’ Second Choice For The Character?
For years there’s been speculation that the role of Han Solo came down to two people. One of them of course being Harrison Ford and the other being Christopher Walken. The actor who would go on to win an Academy Award for his role in the movie “The Deer Hunter” doesn’t think that he was ever that close to landing the role of Han Solo. Recently recalling his experience in the audition process for the role in an interview with the Financial Times saying,
“About 500 other actors auditioned, so it wasn’t as if it was down to me and somebody else.”
Missing Out On Big Roles In The 70s
Being in the running for big roles, but ultimately coming up short was apparently Christopher Walken’s thing back in the 70s. Other than the Star Wars gig that he lost he also apparently got shot out of a chance to be in the 1970 classic Love Story. That part eventually went to Ryan O’Neal. All of these years later though, Walken isn’t bitter about not getting picked for either role. Going as far as to say that he would’ve been awful in both! He mentioned,
“I was lucky [to have been rejected from both films] because I’d have been awful in them,”
Still Very Active At 78
Walken is one of those actors that have certainly aged like fine wine. Ironically though certain generations aren’t going to remember him for his Academy Award-winning role in, “The Deer Hunter”, but for his appearance in that infamous SNL sketch featuring Will Farrell and other stand out SNL cast members like Jimmy Fallon, where he continually asks for “More cowbell!”. At 78, he’s currently in England filming the British crime series “The Outlaws.” As part of the interview with the Financial Times, he also took time, to talk about politics.
Sharing His Similarities With Donald Trump
Even though Donald Trump isn’t in office anymore Americans abroad apparently still get asked about him quite regularly. Walken didn’t side step the Trump question. He was clear that he didn’t share many political beliefs with the former president. From there though he took a humorous approach to the topic. Speaking about the personal similarities that he does have with the former president. Saying,
“We’re both from Queens, we’re close to the same age, his mother is from Scotland like mine, his father is German-American like mine,” he then ended with the kicker, “We both have hair fixations!”
