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Apple TV+’s Severance is a show based around mystery and surprise, centering around the simple idea that, if we had two lives that never interacted, what would they both look like, and how different would they be? It’s an idea that applies to the show’s cast, as well, many of whom have been cast against type and display hidden depths that audiences might not have expected — none more than the show’s Burt Goodman, brought to life by cinematic icon Christopher Walken. But why should we be surprised? Walken has spent decades by this point confounding expectations. For your consideration, dear reader: Christopher Walken is far more impressive than you think he is.

This is For Your Consideration, in which we try to come to terms with the inescapable fact that, honestly, there’s too much out there to have time to watch, read, or hear everything — by making some suggestions about things that you might have overlooked but would enjoy, anyway. Think of it as recommendations from a well-meaning friend.

Everyone has a Christopher Walken inside them somewhere

Even for people who can’t think of a single movie he’s been in, there’s certainly a common perception of who Christopher Walken is. It’s this:

Okay, maybe that’s a bit strong, but Walken’s idiosyncratic delivery has made him into enough of a figure of fun and pop culture touchstone that ads like this don’t just exist, but work:

Let’s not ignore the fact that Walken is clearly in on the joke in this commercial, displaying that he has more of a sense of humor than most people would about this kind of thing. Perhaps he’s able to laugh at it because the caricature on display here is one that’s so reductive as to be more cartoonish than irritating. For all that Walken’s role on Severance feels like it’s playing against the overblown, eye-catching stereotype in the videos above, his true career path is filled with a variety of work that demonstrates his range… and his fondness for the kind of weird that Severance offers on a weekly basis. Here are three examples.

Walken classic #1: The Dead Zone (1983)

An early lead role for Walken, The Dead Zone — adapted from a Stephen King novel by none other than David Cronenberg — sees him play Johnny Smith, a schoolteacher who suddenly has psychic powers after being in a coma. (The title comes a reference to part of his brain that was damaged as a result of the coma, giving him the powers in the first place, at least in the book version; in the movie, it’s a specific thing that his psychic visions can’t see, which is taken to mean that he can still change the future.)

Whether it’s Walken’s choice or Cronenberg’s influence, there’s something quietly disturbing about how understated his performance is here, and how oddly disconnected he seems about events as they unfold around him. Considering that the movie ends up with Smith trying to avert nuclear apocalypse, you’d think he’d get more worked up, and yet…

Walken classic #2: Batman Returns (1992)

In a movie packed with standout performances — really, Tim Burton’s second Batman outing is kind of a masterclass in melodramatic moviemaking — Christopher Walken’s villainous Max Schreck might be the character that most closely matches the director’s intent for the entire movie. At turns charming, cartoonishly evil, and hilariously deadpan, Max Schreck practically steals the show away from both Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfieffer’s Catwoman, despite having no comic book incarnation to draw from or costumed alter ego to rely upon. (I almost said “no strong visual to grab the audience by the eyeballs,” but… well, the hair.)

Displaying an ability to pivot effortlessly through dramatic tone shifts depending on what’s necessary for the story, Walken manages to make his bad guy genuinely memorable with very little to work with, coming across as supremely confident even as the city goes to hell around him with a menagerie of crime and a circus of chaos at his beck and call. It’s a genuinely great performance often forgotten in the shadow of his co-stars, but I’d argue Walken is what holds the entire movie together so well.

Walken classic #3: A Late Quartet (2012)

From the ridiculous to the sublime, Walken is arguably the heart of this movie about a string quartet reconsidering their relationships and shared history in the wake of a medical diagnosis that changes everything. Given that he’s playing opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, that’s quite the achievement — especially given that his character is the violinist whose Parkinson’s disease diagnosis is the inciting incident behind the whole movie.

Again, understatement is the order of the day here, and there’s a subtle beauty to what Walken is doing throughout the entire thing, ably supported (and playing against) some of the strongest co-stars of his career. In many ways, it’s a perfect companion to Severance, albeit one that leans heavier on the melancholy at the center of the performances, rather than the science fictional elements of the latter.

Each of the three movies above are miles away from “More cow bell,” or the schtick being parodied in the BMW commercial — just as they’re miles away from, say, Walken’s memorable Pulp Fiction scene. Christopher Walken really can do it all, when given the chance. And if you don’t believe me, just remember this, as well:

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