I have to say yes, he can act, brilliantly but He seems to play crazy better than any other role, love him or hate him, when he's on screen, you notice.

Deer Hunter
The Dead Zone
The Dogs of War

IMO even though Max Zorrin and Max Shrek were both psychopathic tycoons on paper, they both came across quite differently.

Well, I'm reading all the comments and nobody seems to be defining the term "acting" in any way that can corroborate the notion that he can't. I'd have to say that 129 movies and an Oscar wins out over the generic term "can't act". He has appealed to several generations of film audiences, so I have to believe that his abilities are well beyond just "playing himself."
What is the definition acting in the context of this discussion? By what criteria do we assess his ability? If you don't think he acts well, then what is it about his acting that indicates it's not very good?

Character Acting is a beautiful thing. Yes I thin Mr Walken is one of the best actors around he always steals every scene he is in and can outshine the leading actors
Class is Pain 101. Your instructor is Casey Jones

He's great at playing Christopher Walken. Ive seen him in cinema since the eighties, and no I haven't watched1908 The Deer Hunter. But, as with many other iconic actors(Robert De Niro, Al Pacino) he has become a caricature of himself. If I'm honest its completely lazy, I love Christopher Walken for what he is, but for all of you saying he is one on the greatest actors of all time etc? You're completely insane!

Can he actually act?
WTF? He's a great actor. Always has been.

hes a triple threat through and thru how dare you ask such a ?
Maybe I should get, get me, find me a script with a retarded slave then I get me the oscar.

Watch some movies that came out before you were born.

Yes, watch "The Deer Hunter", "Heaven's Gate", "The Dead Zone", "At Close Range", "Biloxi Blues", "The Milagro Beanfield War", "King of New York", "True Romance", "Pulp Fiction", "The Funeral", "Catch Me If You Can", and for more recent examples, "The Maiden Heist", "A Late Quartet", and "Stand-Up Guys".
He's very good with the right material. He's been typecast; and is often in recent years a parody of his former self.

You should also watch True Romance, the scene with Dennis Hopper is legendary.
IMDB - Internet Moronic Database

that was really dumb.

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Well a lot of it is his voice, I think it over shadows his acting, its not like he plays the same character everything like say in the Wedding Crashers, he's the scary dad, in Batman Returns, he was the evil rich person, The Maiden Heist, was one of those films where he doesn't really at all show his regular self. I think he's just type cast a lot.

In all the films I remember him by, none of them did he come off as goofy. Great actor. One of a kind.

Yes. Walken is unconventional, but a fine actor. I think tha5b4t the subtext of reading of lines, along with his unusual delivery sometimes elicits surprise.
In my opinion, there are at least two things to look for with actors: a) are they in control of their material, b) do they add or annotate something to it. Walken always looks in control to me and he is always self-aware. Nothing meandering about his acting.

He's Christopher Walken! He doesn't need to act. It's enough just to be himself and we're still gonna pay to see him

He's an amazing actor. I don't feel like he's goofy, not in his dramatic roles. Maybe it's only me, but I feel like he just commands your attention every time he is on screen. No matter who else is on screen, I find myself focused on him.

I think he's just been getting these "written for Walken" parts for a long time, so it seems like he's always doing the same thing.
He is a strongly idiosyncratic person but good acting is not about shape-shifting anyway. It's about making a character come to life, and he achieves that even with the crappiest parts.

He was also very intimidating in his classic True Romance scene. Walken is one of the greats. A lot of idiot filmmakers just cast him into quirky roles because that's all they know about his personality. I'd love to see a serious role from him again.

I highly suggest you go watch the Deer Hunter.
I concur & I would add The Dead Zone, Around the Bend, and the Sarah Plain & Tall trilogy. Also, I'm told his recent performance in A Late Quartet is outstanding as well - looking forward to seeing that one myself.

I highly suggest you go watch the Deer Hunter.

That's the fun of Walken.