By Jenny Halper in New York

Christopher Walken was not scary. Having been terrified by his Max Shreck at the age of nine, I was a little nervous about meeting the actor known for strange, dark films and even darker roles. But the second Walken sat down, grinned wryly, and asked for two tea bags and no water (an assistant nonetheless steeped tea), I relaxed.

Prone to amusing pauses, Walken has a subtle, off-kilter sense of humor- a trait he shares with his “Around the Bend” character, Turner Lair. As Turner, a musician and ex-convict, Walken makes a “normal” man with “normal” troubles especially magnetic. Embarking on a road trip with his estranged son Jason (Josh Lucas) and grandson Zach (Jonah Bobo), Turner consumes excessive Kentucky Fried Chicken in memory of his late father, briefly played by Michael Caine. Towards the movies’ end, when Turner shares a dark past secret with his son, Walken’s vast emotional range is revealed. It’s an incredible performance, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination.

Promoting “Around the Bend,” Walken seemed more than happy to discuss both his latest film and his lengthy career. He was also willing to indulge silly questions. Asked what superhero power he’d most like to possess, he smiled mischievously, took a customary Walken pause, and said: “I’d have the X-Ray vision. So I could see through things. Walls.”

Here’s what else he had to say:

Q: Edward Albee did a play on Louise Nevelson where he asked: “If you could come back as anyone, who would it be?” And she said “Louise Nevelson.” Would you have the same answer?

CHRISTOPHER: It’s the only thing you could count on! At least I know my own story. If you could swap with somebody, would you? I don’t think you have any choice but to come back as yourself.

Q: I’m surprised by how different your choices are. You’re in a comedy, then you’re in a drama, you’re in an action film with Denzel, and then you did “The Stepford Wives,” and now you come with this film, a sweet father/son/grandfather/great grandson story. Why did this film appeal to you?

CHRISTOPHER: I don’t play along with…I don’t get offered particularly human people to play. This guy is basically just a guy, with normal troubles. And plus, I play a father, I play a grandfather. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. So this was a good opportunity. Nice part, big part.

Q: So many actors you started out with are no longer working, yet you keep going. What’s the reason?

CHRISTOPHER: You’re right, people say to me are you intuitive, are you instinctive, are you smart? I’m lucky. It’s better than being any of those other things.

Q: We just talked to Jordan Roberts, and he said you did a lot of inner and outer work to make yourself look decrepit. I was wondering if you could tell us a bit about what that was?

CHRISTOPHER: I don’t know. I lost weight. I figured, you know, he’s on death’s doorstep. So I did make an effort to be a little bit emaciated. I look pretty awful in the movie, basically. And I’m supposed to.

Q: Jordan’s a very renowned writer, but he’s a first time director. You and Michael Caine are two of the great actors of your time. What did you give to him to try to help him move along and tell the story that he wanted to tell?

CHRISTOPHER: We were out there in New Mexico, there wasn’t really a lot going on. We were together all the time and mostly we just worked on it, rehearsing on our day off, trying to figure things out. There were a lot of things, when we started, that were not resolved. The big question was, why had I done that to my son? It’s a very difficult thing- we talked about it, we talked about it, we talked about it, and finally we decided that he did it because he did a terrible thing, he just was in bad shape and he lost control. That’s never happened to me, but people, they drive too fast, they hurt somebody, it’s terrible to live with.

Q: You have a reputation for never turning down a film. Is that true?

CHRISTOPHER: Sure. Acting is my favorite thing to do, and I don’t have a lot of other interests, so my inclination is to say yes, even when there’s a lot of doubts. You sort of hope for the best, and try to figure it out as you go along. With movies, there’s always an editor, that’s the great thing. You can make a lot of mistakes. And if it’s really awful, chances are they’ll cut it out. Rather than stay home and wait for the part…a lot of actors do that and they do it very successfully. I’ve had very good actors say to me, “you know, you really ought to be more choosy.” Because I’ve made movies that I haven’t seen. But I don’t regret that. I do a lot of stuff. Someone once said to me, you’re an actor who throws a lot of stuff at the wall and sees what sticks. And I think that that’s true.

Q: A question about the chicken. How much chicken did you end up eating? And I asked this same question to Jordan Roberts, are you worried that people are going to look at this KFC prominently displayed…

CHRISTOPHER: No, you’re right. KFC does get a lot of publicity, and for a long time I couldn’t believe that they had nothing to do with it, you would think that they would have kicked in some money for the production. It’s an ad. But that’s not true. It was originally just the concept of this Kentucky Fried Chicken world. Like I say, I was trying to lose weight, so I faked a lot of the eating. When I was a kid I used to eat fast food. You know, Mel Brooks said, “Every morning I get up and I throw the window open and I pray my heart should not attack me.” (Laughs). And the other rule is to never, ever, eat fried food.

Q: The material said something about a location that was supposed to be New York City, or the northeast, or even California, and eventually it moved to the southwest, how did you feel about that?

CHRISTOPHER: It was very good. When you make a movie, there’s always a very big deal about parking the trucks. You’ve got the actor’s dressing rooms, the makeup, the lights, and lots of trucks. And that’s always a big deal. If you’re in a city, you’ve got to have permits, you’ve got to have police blocking the street, social security. But out there, there’s plenty of space to park. If I said, could I have my dressing room right there, there’s no problem.

Q: Had you worked extensively with kids before, and if not, how was the experience of working with Jonah Bobo?

CHRISTOPHER: I hadn’t worked with kids, and I don’t have kids, but he and I really hit it off, he thought I was hilarious. Sometimes we had to stop and calm him down because he’s quite wild.

Q: Anything particularly memorable happen?

CHRISTOPHER: Just lots. I’d say something, he’d be in stitches, his mother would have to come calm him down. He’s a brilliant kid, very, very smart kid.

Q: You once said, “I used to be prettier than I am, but I think I look better now, I was a pretty boy, particularly in my early movies, I don’t like looking at them very much.” You look pretty hot now…

CHRISTOPHER: I look ok, I try to take care of myself, and it’s true if you see me in those earlier movies it’s a little bit like…it’s a little like Grace Kelly (laughs).

Q: Do you realize so many people have been in love with you from early on, and you went through that sex idol period…

CHRISTOPHER: I did for ten minutes. I think, following “Deer Hunter,” that for a few minutes I was a leading man. I did pictures like “Dogs of War” and so forth. But that didn’t last long. I think there’s something eccentric about me- I’m not apt to be the guy who gets the girl.

Q: Do you enjoy character actor work?

CHRISTOPHER: I do what’s there.

Q: Do you feel that not being a leading actor is giving you the opportunity to stretch more?

CHRISTOPHER: Not really. You have to do what you are, that was never an option for me. I did a few things like that, but like I said, I don’t think I’m ever going to be the guy who gets the girl, I’m not sure exactly why…

Q: You’ve developed this wicked onscreen persona that’s caricatured a lot. Do you find that funny, or are you annoyed by that?

CHRISTOPHER: No, no, it’s great.

Q: There’s a short I just saw at a festival where a character wants to be you and only talks in lines from your movies.

CHRISTOPHER: Yeah, I heard about that. And there’s a play at the Edinburgh Festival recently, that I saw.

Q: Who does a better impression of you, Jay Mohr or Kevin Spacey?

CHRISTOPHER: My wife says Kevin Spacey’s the best one.

Q: You once said what you are as an actor is a reflection of what you are in real life, yet you’ve been married over twenty-five years-

CHRISTOPHER: Thirty-five.

Q: So part of you is so normal, but if your parts are a reflection of you, I’d be scared to be sitting this close.

CHRISTOPHER: No, I think it’s true, I have nothing to do with most of the parts I play. I think that maybe it’s because I come from musical theater. Part of me, as an actor, has always included the audience. Every time I see myself in a movie I think, “That’s Chris, you know that that’s Chris.” I can play these heinous people but there’s always an inclusion of the audience. They know that I’m only pretending.

Q: Speaking of musical theater, you just finished “Romance and Cigarettes,” with John Turturro, and I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about that.

CHRISTOPHER: Yeah! Music and movies, that’s pretty rare. I just made it, I haven’t seen it yet. I have a big song and dance number. It’s got great actors in it, Susan Sarandon, James Gandolfini.

Q: What about “The Wedding Crashers”?

CHRISTOPHER: I guess that’ll be next summer. It’s Vince Vaughn, and Owen Wilson, and it’s a comedy.

Q: Do you think you’ll ever go back to the stage?

CHRISTOPHER: Who knows? (Laughs).

Q: Going back to “Around the Bend,” I love the scene where you’re dancing all over the place, and I didn’t realize that you did come from that musical theater background. Are we going to see something like that in “Romance and Cigarettes”?

CHRISTOPHER: It’s a dance number with a song. Actually, I do it to Tom Jones’ song “Delilah.”

Q: When you’re doing so many different films, what do you like the best- comedy, drama, musical theater? And have you ever thought about directing?

CHRISTOPHER: I don’t think I’d be a good director, I don’t think I’d be good at articulating myself about what I wanted. I did have a directing experience once, in the theater. And I discovered a lot about myself. If somebody would ask me something, I’d say, “Do whatever you want.” And that’s not a good way to be a director.

Q: The night you won (the Academy Award) you went to bed with the Oscar in your hand. Is your wife glad you didn’t win an award every year?

CHRISTOPHER: That was a very important thing. It’s absolutely true. I knew that that was going to make lots of differences in lots of ways, but it also would make a financial difference. The house I live in was built by my Oscar.

Q: You don’t see yourself as the guy who gets the girl, what do you see yourself as?

CHRISTOPHER: When I started out as an actor, I tried to be all sorts of things; people tell you, “that’s how you be an actor.” I used to do research, I had a part once where I was supposed to be mentally unbalanced, I went to hospitals and stuff like that. It was very interesting and sad, but I don’t think it did me any good. I had a lot of information, I had a lot of experience, but in terms of saying my lines and playing a scene, it didn’t make any difference. So I stopped wasting my time in that sense, I realized that the reference point I had about anything is my own. The whole idea of getting into somebody else’s head- there are some people who can do that, but not me.

Q: The New York Times recently did an article stating that we no longer have the great leading men, the great faces that we had in the seventies- Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino. Now we have pretty boys. Do you think that we’re going through a cultural light period, or do you think we’re just not as blessed as we used to be?

CHRISTOPHER: I don’t think so. I think there are young actors out there who are phenomenal. It always amazes me- how can somebody be that young and that good? Certainly, it took me a long time to know what I was doing. I think it’s just, you know, talent. Some people can just do it. I have this contractor friend who says: “Acting is not very difficult, once you know how to do it…”

“Around the Bend” opens in select cities on October 8th.