Christopher Walken’s Funniest Role Isn’t Even in a Movie

Christopher Walken, is, you know, a Hollywood icon. Even if you have never seen anything he’s done (which is next to impossible), you are undoubtedly aware of his chill persona, fabulous forehead, and very particular way of speaking. He’s a rare combination of incredibly intimidating, yet surprisingly comforting. An Oscar winner for his performance in Michael Cimino’s 1978 film The Deer Hunter, Walken has proven his dramatic range in films such as Pulp Fiction, The Dead Zone, King of New York, and Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, to name a few. Most recently, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work in Apple TV+’s Severance. Though typically rigid and reserved in his performances, Walken slides effortlessly into comedies just as well. In fact, it’s the way he takes his comedies as seriously as his dramas that makes his comedic work that much more impressive.

The comedies that Walken finds himself in are always extremely silly. Like, very goofy, and occasionally, less-than-great. For every Seven Psychopaths and Wedding Crashers, there’s a Nines Lives, Wild Mountain Thyme, The War with Grandpa, and Balls of Fury. But the common thread in all these movies, good, bad, and in between? Walken delivers, doing the best he can with the material he is given. The stars aligned at the turn of the century for what is undoubtedly the funniest role Walken ever embodied. And to think that this role wasn’t even in a movie, but on a legendary stage, with a tiny but mighty instrument.

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Who Is Christopher Walken in the ‘Saturday Night Live’ “More Cowbells” Sketch?

Saturday Night Live has shaped the comedy landscape and what many people deem funny for nearly 50 years. Everyone has “that” cast that they grew up with that they associate with the long-running sketch show. Among the cast in the early 2000s was Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, Chris Kattan, Horatio Sanz, Tracy Morgan, Cheri Oteri, and Ana Gasteyer, and they were anchored by the unofficial leaders in Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell. When Walken hosted SNL for the fourth time on April 8, 2000, history was made.

By the end of the episode, where all the extra weird and hyper-specific sketches that you feel like Lorne Michaels let on the air with a shrug land (often the best sketches), we enter a recording studio. The sketch’s opening is designed to look like old footage for a documentary, with the voice-over explaining, “After a series of staggering defeats, Blue Öyster Cult assembled in the recording studio in late 1976 for a session with famed producer Bruce Dickinson, and luckily for us, the cameras were rolling.” Walken walks into the studio with an undeniable swagger, a brown leather jacket, rose-tinted glasses, and a chip on his shoulder. He stands before the band (played by Kattan, Ferrell, Fallon, Sanz, and Parnell) and with a hand on his hip says, “Alright, guys, I think we’re ready to lay this first track down. By the way, my name is Bruce Dickinson. Yes, the Bruce Dickinson. And I gotta tell ya, fellas, you have got what appears to be a dynamite sound.”

The uneasy “where is this going?” feeling hangs in the air, which accompanies only the best sketches (think Kristen Wiig’s SNL character Sue who can’t contain herself for a surprise). The band is in awe of Bruce, with smiles peaking through their ’70s-era mustaches. Even if his character didn’t say it to their face, Walken just gives off the energy of someone who is a pretty big deal and knows it. The bandmates reek of desperation as they slip in compliments to the producer and over-laugh at his “jokes.” What also makes this sketch is the added detail of the occasional streaky line or stray dot that appears on screen, reminding the audience that this is “actual footage” from the rock band’s recording of their hit song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” off of their Agents of Fortune album.

The band proceeds with their track, everyone doing their part in their very 1970s ensembles. Notably out of place is Will Ferrell, who aside from towering over the rest of the guys, is stoic and methodically clanging his cowbell (no, that is not a euphemism). You’d think this incessant, out-of-place sound would infuriate the Bruce Dickinson, right? Oh, the contrary. After Parnell’s character abruptly stops and calls in Bruce for his opinion, Walken commits hard. Not only did he think the cowbell was worthy of joining the likes of guitars and drums, but he was firm in his belief that the song would be better with even more cowbell.

Christopher Walken Is the Reason “More Cowbell” Has Endured

As one might expect, things only escalate from here. Walken’s commanding presence strikes fear into the heart of any poor soul who dares object to his musical instincts. “Explore the space!” he says with such conviction and fervor to Ferrell’s bushy-haired Gene Frenkle, much to the band’s chagrin. Ferrell takes that order and runs with it, shaking and jostling his doughy physique that oozes over his ill-fitting jeans like a tube of Pillsbury dough that’s just popped as he hits that cowbell as if his life depends on it. Of course, this only irks the band more, and yet, Walken’s feet remain firmly planted on his controversial position: “I’m tellin’ ya, fellas, you’re gonna want that cowbell.”

After a pathetic attempt at a fight, Ferrell makes his case for why the inclusion of this particular bell is necessary. “If Bruce Dickinson wants more cowbell, we should probably give him more cowbell…the last time I checked, we don’t have a whole lot of songs that feature the cowbell!” An accidental smile creeps across Ferrell’s face as he gets more fired up, but Walken remains pissed off at the lack of cowbell as if his life was on the line. Bruce’s presence pierces the tension in the air like a knife, leading us to one of the most iconic and repeated lines in SNL history. Walken’s voice modulation and staccato speaking style don’t disappoint, and he practically throws out his back as he hammers his point home. “Guess what! I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell!”

In classic sketch fashion, the conflict gets resolved suspiciously quickly. Eric sees the error of his ways and calls after Gene (who was mid-storming off) and tells him he should stay so that they could lay the cowbell-centric track down “together.” The weight in Parnell’s voice here was as if they had been to hell and back in the trenches, not bickered over an instrument. After an extended pause of reflection, Gene agrees to stay, and Walken pipes up, “Babies, before we’re done here, y’all be wearing gold-plated diapers.” Kattan’s wise-ass comment forces Bruce into the third person. “Never question Bruce Dickinson!” The sketch ends in harmony, with the band singing their best track yet and Gene hitting his cowbell (again, not a euphemism) with a big smile on his face. Over a freeze-frame of him doing what he loved, the screen reads: “In memoriam, Gene Frenkle, 1950-2000.” In a meta-moment, Ferrell’s character passed away the year the sketch was released.

Will Ferrell Rewrote “More Cowbell” for Christopher Walken

Over 20 years after its debut, the “More Cowbell” sketch remains ingrained in comedy’s history and pop culture with a rare reverence that silly sketches, unfortunately, don’t get. The phrase was added to the slang dictionary in 2018 with the entry “anything that a person is longing for or feels is lacking.” During an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Ferrell even joked and said that Walken claimed the “More Cowbell” sketch “ruined his life.”

“Here’s the crazy thing. I go to see Christopher Walken years later, in a play. I say hello to him backstage and he’s like, ‘You know, you’ve ruined my life. People during curtain call bring cowbells. The other day I went for Italian food for lunch, and the waiter asked if I wanted more cowbell with my pasta bolognese.’ I think he’s really mad at me. From The Deer Hunter to Pulp Fiction to ‘more cowbell,’ that’s all he gets now.”

In an SNL retrospective piece for Rolling Stone, Ferrell details the sketch’s origins.

“Every time I heard ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,’ by Blue Öyster Cult, I would hear the faint cowbell in the background and wonder, ‘What is that guy’s life like?’ When I first presented the sketch at the table read…Lorne was asking questions like, ‘Oh, is that a famous part of that song? The cowbell?’ We were all saying, ‘No – that’s why it’s funny.’ It kinda died in committee.”

That table read was with Norm Macdonald, but when it was Walken’s time to host, Ferrell rewrote it for him specifically.

“His odd rhythms fit so perfectly. He gave it that special sauce. At dress [rehearsal] the sketch was kind of put at the back of the show. I thought it probably wouldn’t make it. And then, lo and behold, the audience just keyed into how bizarre it was.”

Cowbells continue to ring in Walken’s ear to this day. He told Conan O’Brien that he was in Singapore, and the man next to him at a restaurant told him his salad “needs more cowbell.” Christopher Walken’s unique persona, voice, and filmography, in addition to Ferrell’s hyper-specific idea and its execution, are a match made in, you know, comedy heaven.