The Casting Choices That Almost Changed Movies As We Know Them

Try to hear the lines in Christopher Walken’s rhythm, and the whole cantina suddenly feels different. During the long search for the Star Wars (1977) cast, he read for Han Solo, part of a process that tested several young actors before the final trio came together. Walken’s presence has always been distinctive: the pauses, the sudden turns, the feeling that a sentence might go somewhere unexpected.