I recently read that Christopher Walken was originally the choice to play Han Solo. Obviously, it’s damn hard to think of ANYONE other than Harrison Ford playing that role, but of course in Hollywood there are always weird casting changes like that, and so I’ve always wondered how the movie would have turned out if it was Walken as Solo instead of Ford.
Obviously Harrison Ford brought a really distinctive presence to his role (arguably he was the only good actor in the whole movie, besides Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing, of course - I personally think Han Solo is what made the SW movies, and without him they wouldn’t have been any good) but what would it have been like with Walken wearing the black vest? Harrison Ford has a really macho, cocky, cowboy sort of personality as Han Solo, a real tough-guy and all around badass who knows his way around the galaxy and can out-fly, and out-muscle anyone. Ford’s inherent alpha-male characteristics, his gruff voice and rugged looks were what made that role what it was.
But Walken is a different sort of actor entirely. At that point in his career, in the 1970s, Walken was NOTHING like Harrison Ford. He was not an alpha male or a badass - he had built up his career playing unstable, neurotic, and slightly creepy characters as in the Deer Hunter. Walken was handsome then - thin, blonde, with delicate features and a sorrowful, vulnerable charm - but he was certainly nothing like the rugged, cocky, and more conventionally-handsome Harrison Ford.
So I have to wonder what the character of Han Solo would have been like if it had been Walken who got the role. Would he have been less macho, but maybe more witty and slightly eccentric? Would he have been able to carry that role the same way Harrison Ford did?
I know Walken has in recent years been made into a sort of caricature of himself through pop culture - an oddball whacko with crazy hair and a stunted delivery - but try to refrain from making this a joke thread. Think about 70s-era Walken, before he became typecast, and imagine what he would have brought to the Han Solo character?
The rough sex appeal is what makes Han Solo a success, it fills a purpose and is essential for the character dynamic in the movies. That and the fact that he can work almost all of the dialogue, no matter how silly.
As much as I love Christopher Walken (especially 70’s era Christopher Walken), his inclusion would probably have lessen the impact of Star Wars: the Blockbuster notably. Partially or completely, I don’t know.
Christopher Walken was not the original choice to play Han Solo. He was one of the three finalists in the tryouts for the role of Han Solo - Walken, Ford, and Nick Nolte. Lucas held auditions for the role and eventually limited himself to these three actors. He ultimately decided to cast Ford. Walken was never offered the role:
He’s the romantic lead in the “Who Am I This Time?” episode of American Playhouse. He’s a romantic lead in Brainstorm, Sarah Plain and Tall (and its sequels), and The Dead Zone. There are a lot of other films that I haven’t seen that I’m not sure about. Granted, he’s an offbeat romantic lead in all of those films. There are two things that keep him from being a romantic lead more often. First, he’s a supporting actor, not a lead actor, in most films. Second, he was never a classically handsome sort. Given his age, it’s even more unlikely that he will be cast as a romantic lead these days.