Walken 101
145 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsWalken 101 is a podcast where filmmaker Kenny Johnson and actor Brandon Hardesty watch and dissect Christopher Walken's performance in every film/TV show he's ever appeared in.
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Episodes
#95 - Man on Fire (2004)
July 29, 2019 13:56 - 1 hour - 80 MBKenny and Brandon briefly discuss the action movie "Man on Fire" with Christopher Walken playing a rare "good guy" role as an old friend of Denzel Washington's character who helps him exact revenge on a notorious kidnapping ring. That covers about 20% of the podcast. Kenny and Brandon, again, stress that they feel no desire to hold back on getting off-topic as they discuss a myriad of other issues, including female heroes in Marvel movies, climate change, and Walken's suspected involvement in...
#94 - Updates
July 25, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBIn what was meant to be a quick update on the lack on episodes recently, Brandon and Kenny dive deep and discuss the mountain of work they're tackling with IMDb, Brandon's baby worries, Kenny's FaceApp worries, and Walken's two brothers: Kenneth and Glenn, both who have apparently acted in various projects through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. NOTE: No shoutouts on this one. This is just meant as an update episode. We'll get you Ronnies next time.
#93 - True Crime: Streets of LA (2003)
July 01, 2019 01:11 - 1 hour - 98.2 MBKenny and Brandon spend a Monday morning watching 55 minutes of cutscenes from the subpar open-world Xbox game "True Crime: Streets of LA", in which Walken plays a cop named George that looks like Dick Cheney. As a result of mental deterioration, they spend 20% of the podcast actually discussing Christopher Walken and the other 80% talking about recycling, aliens, and various other topics. Brandon takes the brunt of embarrassment for this episode as he admits he hasn't "figured out recycling ...
#92 - A Very Special Road Trip Episode
June 08, 2019 20:42 - 2 hours - 123 MBGet lost on the road with the ramblings of Brandon and Kenny as they drive from Baltimore to Orlando, Florida with Kenny's friend Erik to interview subjects for a documentary about Disney vloggers. On the way, they take questions from Walken 101 fans about Christopher Walken and about their life in general. Topics include meetups with fans, Walken making chicken, Kenny's Five Tips for Life, appropriate bathroom etiquette on the road, Brandon's "favorite" show "To Catch a Predator", wrestling ...
#91 - The Rundown (2003)
May 16, 2019 12:42 - 1 hour - 112 MBAfter discussing 'Avengers: Endgame' and giving shoutouts to the Ronnies, Brandon and Kenny discuss the 2003 action film 'The Rundown,' in which Walken wore a cabana hat. Kenny berates Brandon for his inability to follow key plot points in the film, and they close the show out with a new segment, "Walken on a Name," a game show nobody asked for in which Brandon reads various Walken character names and asks Kenny to identify the movie associated with each character.
#90 - Sixth SNL Appearance (2003)
May 09, 2019 18:55 - 1 hour - 74.1 MBBrandon and Kenny take it easy and watch some SNL sketches from Christopher Walken's sixth SNL appearance. Sketches include "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "Pranksters," "Life Raft Election," "Colonel Angus," "The Luvahs," and "The Continental," although NBC's website wouldn't load the sketch for some reason. The episode featured The Foo Fighters as the musical guest, and Brandon and Kenny discuss a popular interview with frontman Dave Grohl in which he recounts how he purposely told Christop...
#89 - Julius Ceasar (2002)
April 29, 2019 14:20 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBAfter Brandon and Kenny give a heartfelt goodbye to longtime Ronnie Greg Eckberg and discuss their methods of dealing with encounters with homeless people, they dive into describing Walken's role in the TNT three-hour two-part miniseries "Julius Caesar". Despite dreading the miniseries, it was actually well-made and somewhat educational, although Kenny found more value in reading a biography of Julius Caesar meant for children that he found on the Internet. Walken's character was Kato, a real...
#88 - Gigli (2003)
April 22, 2019 17:32 - 56 minutes - 65.2 MBBrandon and Kenny endure the infamously bad (and not "fun" bad) romantic-crime-comedy-caper-buddy-drama "Gigli," in which Christopher Walken appears for roughly five minutes as a hard-nosed detective. Brandon reads from some behind-the-scenes interviews with Walken about the film, as well as a Second-Hand Walken story told by Justin Bartha about Walken not recognizing him at a dinner party, despite the fact that they had the same agent at the time and had just worked on "Gigli" together.
#87 - Kangaroo Jack (2003)
March 28, 2019 13:06 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBKenny and Brandon sit through approximately 50 minutes of the crime-comedy-family-caper-bazinga-fartjoke film 'Kangaroo Jack' before they disrespect the movie completely and start the podcast. Walken played a mob boss. That's pretty much it. They spend roughly 10 collective minutes talking about Walken's performance, and another hour picking apart the film and just talking about movies in general.
#86 - Catch Me If You Can (2002)
March 04, 2019 14:48 - 1 hour - 126 MBAfter a long wait, Kenny and Brandon finally got to enjoy one of Walken's best performances as the charming, down-on-his-luck Frank Abagnale Sr., father to a notorious check forger in Steven Spielberg's 2002 film 'Catch Me If You Can.' Brandon had never seen it, and remarks how it felt like a normal day, inviting a friend over to watch a good movie. After discussing Walken's performance as well as some interesting behind-the-scenes footage of Walken's methods, Brandon and Kenny look ahead, on...
#85 - Undertaking Betty (2002)
February 27, 2019 19:14 - 1 hour - 117 MBAfter discussing "The Crown" and giving shoutouts to some especially dirty Ronnies, Kenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's genuinely fun performance in an otherwise mediocre comedy as Frank Featherbed, a rival funeral home director who specializes in making extravagant memorial services. Afterwards, they revel in their excitement to watch "Catch Me If You Can" in the next episode, then get way off track as Kenny brings up an upcoming movie that he hates entitled "Where'd You Go, Berna...
#84 - Valley Forge, 5th SNL Appearance, Weapon of Choice, & Engine Trouble (1975-2002)
February 08, 2019 16:02 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss several projects that have been skipped over in the past for a number of reasons and review Walken's performance in them as best they can. Projects include: - roughly two minutes of footage from a 1975 TV movie called 'Valley Forge', in which Walken played a German mercenary - three sketches from Walken's fifth appearance on Saturday Night Live - Spike Jonze's "Weapon of Choice" music video - roughly one minute of footage from a short film entitled 'Engine Trouble' ...
#83 - The Country Bears (2002)
January 23, 2019 13:41 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBIt's official: Brandon and Kenny had the most fun in any Walken 101 episode so far as they broke down Walken's performance as an eccentric Disney villain bent on vengeance against anthropomorphic bears in 'The Country Bears,' a 2002 family-comedy based on the kitschy Disneyworld attraction. The movie was definitely in the "so-bad-it's-good" category.
#82 - Poolhall Junkies (2001)
January 13, 2019 18:50 - 53 minutes - 61.4 MBKenny and Brandon endure the indie-crime-drama-comedy 'Poolhall Junkies,' in which Walken plays a supporting role as an eccentric millionaire involved in high-stakes pool hustling.
#81 - The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
December 27, 2018 12:46 - 58 minutes - 67.1 MBKenny and Brandon struggle to sit through 'The Affair of the Necklace,' a period piece starring Hilary Swank. The movie features a vastly underused Walken as somewhat of a charlatan psychic and prominent member of the Illuminati. They mention that during the movie, they got into a much more interesting discussion about whether or not it was acceptable for an actor to play a character that is a different race or gender from themselves. During the second half of the podcast, they get sidetrack...
#80 - A Look Back
December 26, 2018 16:54 - 1 hour - 129 MBAfter a hectic three-week hiatus, Kenny arrived at Brandon's house early one Sunday morning to record and, seemingly in an irritable mood and not wanting to watch the next movie on the docket "The Affair of the Necklace," instead suggested that they both take a look back at all the Walken projects they've watched so far, as well as all the useless knowledge they've acquired that is starting to come in handy for their video series adaptation of the podcast on their YouTube channel "The Back Fo...
#79 - America's Sweethearts (2001)
November 28, 2018 22:22 - 1 hour - 71.5 MBAfter talking through Brandon's uncomfortable feelings with silence, Kenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's brief, underused performance in the romantic comedy 'America's Sweethearts.'
#78 - Joe Dirt (2001)
November 01, 2018 12:06 - 1 hour - 89 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's memorable cameo as a mobster-turned-janitor under witness protection in the otherwise terrible comedy "Joe Dirt." They theorize on why his performance is funny and begin to brace themselves, as this role is the beginning stages of the "Wacky Walken" phase which would last for nearly a decade. After listening to David Spade tell an anecdote about a conversation with Walken about acting with animals, they pontificate on what one question they would...
#77 - Scotland, Pa. (2001)
October 22, 2018 20:13 - 57 minutes - 65.4 MBOverworked and weary, and Kenny and Brandon struggle to get through this podcast about Christopher Walken's performance in the modern day retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth set in a fast food restaurant in the 1970s. Before trying to talk about the movie in a confused state, they give a very special honorary Ronnie shoutout to someone who wishes only to be known as "Lt. Galloway," who sent a mold of Christopher Walken's face that was made during the filming of 'The Prophecy.'
#76 - The Opportunists (2000)
October 15, 2018 11:26 - 59 minutes - 68.4 MBAfter shoutouts to the dirty Ronnies and discussing their work on their new YouTube channel, Kenny and Brandon talk about Christopher Walken's subdued performance as a deadbeat mechanic and former safecracker in the enjoyable indie-drama "The Opportunists."
#75 - Fourth SNL Appearance (The Cowbell Sketch) (2000)
September 27, 2018 00:28 - 53 minutes - 97.6 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss, at length, the infamous "Cowbell" sketch which acted as a turning point in Christopher Walken's career. It marks the beginning of an era in which Walken became a slightly-unwilling parody of himself. Brandon reads an interview with Will Ferrell describing where the sketch came from, as well as various interviews in which Walken, seemingly in a state of world-weary frustration, gives his reaction to the "Cowbell" phenomenon.
#74 - The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000)
September 11, 2018 13:43 - 1 hour - 91 MBAfter Brandon's return from a week long vacation in Disneyworld, he and Kenny endure the third installment in "The Prophecy" franchise in which Christopher Walken returns as Gabriel, the angel of death. With not much to discuss, Brandon dives deep into some obsessive "Prophecy" fan-fiction written about Walken's character, as well as Walken's religious beliefs.
#73 - Kiss Toledo Goodbye (1999)
September 07, 2018 19:10 - 57 minutes - 65.7 MBA first for the podcast, Kenny and Brandon become so exhausted watching Walken's performance in the crime comedy 'Kiss Toledo Goodbye' that they start recording the podcast twenty minutes into the movie, letting it drone on in the background.
#72 - Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999)
August 24, 2018 11:56 - 1 hour - 69.4 MBAfter struggling to read the patrons names thanks to an unannounced update to Patreon, Brandon and Kenny discuss their refreshing experience watching Christopher Walken bring back one of his more subdued, normal characters in the final installment of the Hallmark series of movies "Sarah, Plain and Tall." Other topics include Jack Palance's oldness and full-frontal male nudity.
#71 - Sleepy Hollow (1999)
August 07, 2018 13:44 - 55 minutes - 51 MBAfter Kenny complains about being stung by a wasp, he and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's role as the Hessian Horseman in 'Sleepy Hollow,' a role in which he had no dialogue besides "AAH!" and "Shh." After getting sidetracked talking about Johnny Depp's turbulent personal life, they are dumbfounded to hear from Walken's own admission that 'Sleepy Hollow' was the first film in which he had an on-screen kiss, a fact quickly refuted by Brandon and Kenny as they cite his romantic lead role i...
#70 - Vendetta (1999)
July 28, 2018 18:04 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBBrandon and Kenny finally solve racism as they discuss Walken's performance as a New Orleans businessman in the late-19th century who, in real life, was at least partly culpable for the worst lynching in American history.
#69 - Blast From the Past (1999)
July 16, 2018 15:24 - 48 minutes - 89.4 MBAfter a "Walken in Our Shoes" segment update regarding Kenny's continuing work filming documentary footage of independent wrestlers as well as some experimental content that both Kenny and Brandon are filming for Brandon's old YouTube channel, they talk about Walken's performance as a fun, regular guy in the 1999 comedy 'Blast from the Past.'
#68 - Antz (1998)
July 02, 2018 16:03 - 53 minutes - 61 MBAfter Brandon reveals specific jingles he made for each patron on Patreon, Brandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's performance in the Dreamworks animated film 'Antz.' They talk about putting together some kind of Christopher Walken performance spectrum: on one side would be a role like he had in 'Wild Side' in which he's completely let loose to do whatever he wants, and on the other side of the spectrum would be something like 'Antz' where he seemingly had very little wiggle room to ex...
#67 - The Eternal (1998)
June 19, 2018 13:18 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBAfter shoutouts to the Ronnies, and Kenny griping about how he got locked out of his house and ran out of air-conditioning in his car, Brandon and Kenny discuss the bizarre mess of a movie "The Eternal," and Christopher Walken's performance as an eccentric Irishman who wakes up a mummy. Afterwards, they talk about the next film on the list, 'Antz,' and Brandon goes into too much detail about how his watching of the film seemed to line up with the beginning stages of puberty.
#66 - The Boy Who Saw Through (1956)
June 13, 2018 15:52 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAfter a surprise Google search, Brandon and Kenny finally found a copy of "The Boy Who Saw Through," a 1956 short film starring a preteen Christopher Walken as a British boy in an upper-class family at the turn of the century who can see through walls, much to the consternation of his parents. They discuss their strange experience watching it, as well as giving some context as to where it came from.
#65 - New Rose Hotel (1998)
June 01, 2018 19:25 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBKenny and Brandon struggle to muster some amount of life and energy after gritting their teeth through an obscure Abel Ferarra film 'New Rose Hotel,' in which Walken is again let loose from his leash in his unhinged, wacky performance as an eccentric blah blah businessman blah blah. After discussing how obnoxious Abel Ferarra is in interviews, Afterwards, they read the plot of their next film 'Eternal' and fantasize about it being a fun, fish-out-of-water comedy, when it, in fact, seems like ...
#64 - Illuminata (1998)
May 23, 2018 19:18 - 52 minutes - 60.1 MBAfter shoutouts to the Ronnies, Kenny and Brandon take a moment to discuss their Meyers-Briggs personality types, Kenny recounts a tale of confronting a Dunkin Donuts customer over some loose cheese, and they eventually talk about Walken's fun, eccentric performance as a gay theater critic in John Turturro's 'Illuminata.' Afterwards, they listen to clips from an interview with Walken on Charlie Rose in which he admits the character is based on the same source material as his SNL "Continental"...
#63 - The Prophecy II (1998)
May 17, 2018 12:07 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBAfter talking for six minutes without the microphones on, Kenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's threatening, funny, whispering performance as Gabriel in "The Prophecy II."
#62 - Mousehunt (1997)
May 02, 2018 13:08 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Walken's performance as a dedicated, no-nonsense rodent exterminator in Gore Verbinski's 1997 comedy 'Mousehunt.' Afterwards, they explore a couple deleted scenes from the film with Walken, and also talk about how, because of his tendency to whisper most of his lines, Walken's scenes in the film have been embraced by a small part of the ASMR community.
#61 - Celluloide (1996)
April 26, 2018 12:48 - 58 minutes - 66.4 MBReunited in Brandon's basement in Baltimore, Brandon and Kenny watch a super-rare performance of Walken as an American soldier and film lover in the 1996 Italian drama 'Celluloide,' which tells the story of the making of an iconic Itallian film 'Rome, Open City.' Despite the entire movie being in Italian with no subtitles (with the exception of Christopher Walken's four-minute scene), Brandon and Kenny enjoyed it, as it was a refreshing reprieve from the usual "eccentric bad guy" fare, and it...
#60 - Suicide Kings (1997)
April 16, 2018 18:00 - 53 minutes - 49 MBAfter discussing the secondary benefits of their experience making Walken 101, Brandon and Kenny discuss Walken's performance as a feared mob boss in the crime-drama-comedy-caper-kerfuffel 'Suicide Kings.' Afterwards, Brandon reads from an article in which Jay Mohr describes how annoyed Walken was with him impersonating his voice on set.
#59 - Excess Baggage (1997)
March 27, 2018 17:18 - 49 minutes - 56.5 MBKenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's performance as another blah blah bad guy blah blah in another crime thing blah blah. Struggling to find new things to talk about, they create a spreadsheet to document several physical and verbal traits that Walken exhibits in a lot of his characters. They include, but are not limited to: touching the tips of fingers together, pointing with his entire body, "prayer hands," isolated grunting, and either widening and or squinting his eyes in lieu o...
#58 - Touch (1997)
March 18, 2018 03:01 - 54 minutes - 62.2 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's performance as a generic conman in the 1997 comedy-drama "Touch," which Kenny aptly describes as "one of those movies that's just on in the background." Brandon remarks how he thinks they've hit Walken bedrock, meaning that, at this point in the chronology of Walken's career, there's nothing new and exciting about any of his characters.
#57 - Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996)
March 12, 2018 16:52 - 52 minutes - 121 MBKenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's performance as a warden on a "planet prison" in the 1996 PC game "Privateer 2: The Darkening." Included is a short on-set interview with Walken describing his character.
#56 - Third SNL Appearance (1996)
March 01, 2018 20:33 - 51 minutes - 59.1 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's spotty third appearance on Saturday Night Live. The Walken wackiness continues to ramp up as they delve further into his work in the late 1990s.
#55 - Ripper (1996)
February 19, 2018 21:30 - 48 minutes - 55.4 MBKenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's over-the-top performance as a cigar-smoking 1940s-esque homicide detective in the 1996 point-and-click puzzle game "Ripper" for the PC.
#54 - Last Man Standing (1996)
February 05, 2018 19:35 - 53 minutes - 60.7 MBBrandon and Kenny attempt to recover from a throughly depressing morning of watching the Yojimbo remake "Last Man Standing" starring Bruce Willis's face, as well as an underutilized Christopher Walken as a villain.
#53 - The Funeral (1996)
January 31, 2018 20:24 - 57 minutes - 65.6 MBIn their first podcast recorded from opposite sides of the country, Kenny starts the podcast by recounting an experience earlier in the morning when he found an injured crow on the side of the road and took it to an animal sancutary. Brandon and Kenny then discuss Christopher Walken's performance as a conflicted gangster in the thought-provoking, yet ultimately depressing Abel Ferarra drama "The Funeral."
#52 - Basquiat (1996)
January 24, 2018 20:59 - 52 minutes - 96.1 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's short but memorable performance as a exploitative journalist in the enjoyable biopic "Basquiat." They then discuss future episodes including the obscure, point-and-click video game "Ripper." (note: Brandon left for Los Angeles for roughly three-and-a-half months after this recording. With Brandon in Los Angeles and Kenny in Baltimore, the next 12-16 episodes will be recorded over Skype).
#51 - Nick of Time (1995)
January 10, 2018 15:44 - 52 minutes - 59.8 MBKenny and Brandon catch up after the holidays and discuss Christopher Walken's performance as the main villain in the Johnny Depp thriller "Nick of Time." As they close the show, they discuss their plans to take a road trip to Yale to watch the super-rare short film "The Boy Who Saw Through," starring Christopher Walken as a child. (note: unfortunately, we later found out that the film study center at Yale is closed when we wanted to go, so it will have to wait)
#50 - Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
January 04, 2018 21:44 - 56 minutes - 64.1 MBBrandon and Kenny catch up after a week off discussing egg nog and Spider-Man/Elsa videos. They then discuss Walken's performance as yet another eccentric bad guy in the crime-drama "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," the only difference being that he's a paraplegic.
#49 - Search and Destroy (1995)
December 19, 2017 15:39 - 53 minutes - 99.4 MBBrandon and Kenny endure the quirky indie film "Search and Destroy" in which Walken plays an eccentric, shady businessman who gets involved in financing a film. Brandon was offended by the stereotypical portrayal of a Christopher Walken. Afterwards, Brandon reads a "Second-Hand Walken" story about a journalist who was brushed off by Walken at an event during the promotion of "Search and Destroy" in 1995, and Kenny reads user-submitted IMDb reviews of the film.
#48 - Wild Side (1995)
December 04, 2017 15:43 - 54 minutes - 102 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Walken in possibly the most unhinged, ridiculous performance of his career: an eccentric money launderer in the 1995 indie drama "Wild Side." Later, they listen to an interview with him in which he talks about how he really just wants to play normal people.
#47 - The Prophecy (1995)
November 29, 2017 16:43 - 57 minutes - 106 MBBrandon and Kenny discuss Christopher Walken's shining performance as Gabriel, the Angel of Death, in the 1995 fantasy-drama "The Prophecy." They both agree that Walken was the best part of the movie. Afterwards, Brandon reads from an interview with "Prophecy" co-star Virginia Madsen in which she shares anecdotes about working with Walken on the film. She goes to great length to talk about how amazing he is, almost to the point of infatuation.
#46 - A Business Affair (1994)
November 23, 2017 15:50 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBKenny and Brandon discuss Christopher Walken's incredibly fun and entertaining performance as a ruthless, eccentric book publisher in the 1994 romantic comedy (and lost gem) "A Business Affair."