Actor Mel Gibson has never been one to shy away from expressing his perspective on any topic — so it’s perhaps unsurprising that he once jokingly told “Leaving Las Vegas” director Mike Figgis for the latter’s 1999 documentary, “Hollywood Conversations” which member of the Hollywood community most reminds him of the antichrist. During their conversation, Gibson and Figgis talked about what it’s like working with Christopher Walken. They both admitted that they were a bit frightened by the actor when they read with him for various projects.
Figgis mentioned that Walken had flown in to read for him, which went poorly. “But he didn’t need a plane, right?” Gibson laughed. Gibson recalled encountering Walken at a rooftop gathering. “He floated in. Sideways, through a crowd of people. He was wearing black … and it was like one of those old vampire movies where they don’t walk, they glide.” Gibson admitted to being scared by Walken as they swapped stories about medieval torture, which turned into a battle between them to point out the ugliest and most horrifying story they knew. “Then he left, and I wanted to leave, because I knew that I didn’t want to work with him, and it was getting scary.” Gibson recalled turning from the conversation and noticing a large, illuminated trio of red sixes posted at a nearby building. Mimicking looking back and forth between object and actor, Gibson laughingly said, “I thought, ‘Oh no. Chris Walken is the antichrist!'”
Again, it’s clear that Figgis and Gibson are kidding, though they’re both clearly awed and even a little scared of the acting legend. And it turns out they’re not the only ones who’ve admitted that working with Walken can be a little daunting.
