Christopher Walken Thanks Broadway Behanding for Prepping Him for Captain Hook in Peter Pan

When Christopher Walken takes on the iconic role of Captain Hook in NBC’s production of Peter Pan Live!, he can thank his most recent Broadway role as preparation for playing the one-handed menace.

“I did a play where I was a guy with one hand—that’s one of the reasons why they thought of me for this,” Walken said about his performance in Martin McDonagh’s A Behanding in Spokane in 2010. “You know [playing a one-handed character] took some getting used to because you have to hide your elbow; otherwise, it looks like you’ve got one arm way too long. Maybe I had a little training for [playing Hook].”

As for Walken’s tendency to play villains, the Oscar winner said, “ I play bad guys because that’s the parts they offer me.” He called the character of Captain Hook “crazy,” but quickly added, “Jerry Lewis is crazy and so is Charles Manson, so it's different. I think Hook is complicated. He’s troubled. He’s got a lot of issues. Hook’s a fascinating character.”

Walken said it would be “great” to return to Broadway, but he has no immediate plans to do so. Right now, he’s concentrating on rehearsals for the NBC special, starring Allison Williams in the title role, which airs on December 4.