Christopher Walken Will Be Hairspray Film's Wilbur Turnblad

Christopher Walken has assumed the role of Wilbur Turnblad in the film version of Hairspray, replacing the previously announced Jim Broadbent, according to Variety. As husband to John Travolta's Edna, Walken will now perform a duet of the musical love song "Timeless to Me."

Walken, now 63, began his career as a dancer, appearing in the chorus of the Broadway musical Baker Street in 1965. According to one published report, he met his wife, Sopranos casting director Georgianne Walken, while on tour in West Side Story. He performed a memorable dance sequence in the 1981 film Pennies from Heaven and won an MTV Video Music Award for choreographing his own dance moves in Fatboy Slim's 2001 music video "Weapon Of Choice."

As a film actor, Walken has appeared in a vast array of both comic and dramatic roles. He won an Oscar in 1978 for The Deer Hunter; recent credits include Wedding Crashers, Catch Me If You Can and the forthcoming Man of the Year with Robin Williams.

Walken's theatrical credits include the Broadway productions of Hurlyburly, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Lion in Winter and The Rose Tattoo, for which he won a Theatre World Award. He was nominated for a Best Actor Tony in 2000 for the musical James Joyce's The Dead. In 2001, Walken played Meryl Streep's brother in The Seagull in Central Park and had been announced to co-star with her this month in Mother Courage. He was replaced by Kevin Kline.

The Hairspray movie, based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, will be directed by Adam Shankman. As previously announced, the cast will also include John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, Brittany Snow as Amber von Tussle, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma von Tussle, Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad, Zac Efron as Link Larkin and Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton.