Ask anyone to do an impression of Christopher Walken, and it probably involves his cadence more than any actual vocal resemblance.
He's gotten away with doing that in pretty much all his work, and that's a good thing — it's actually how he talks.
When he spoke with Tracy Smith (via CBS News) in 2012, he explained why he'd learned to speak like that.
He was born in Queens at a time most of his neighbors — and the customers in his parents' bakery — were immigrants.
English was a second language to most of them, and those were the first voices he heard.
"It's a rhythm thing — people who speak English where they are have to hesitate and think of the right word.
If that speaking rhythm has been ingrained in him since birth, it might be a lucky thing — he's been dancing since he was 3, and that's all rhythm. »
