Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken plays Burt in Severance. His distinctive voice is familiar from decades of film work, but here the performance is unusually gentle. Burt's interest in the office's art and his unhurried way of speaking give the show a different rhythm whenever he appears.

Walken won the Academy Award for Supporting Actor in 1979 for The Deer Hunter. His film credits include Annie Hall, Pennies from Heaven, The Dead Zone, Pulp Fiction and Catch Me If You Can, which earned him another Oscar nomination.

He also has a long stage career, including productions of The Seagull and The Dead. His background in dance is visible in work such as Pennies from Heaven, where movement matters as much as his familiar delivery.

On television, he plays Frank in The Outlaws. Severance gives him a much smaller, more contained environment. He does not need to make Burt eccentric to hold attention; the character's courtesy is enough to stand apart from the rest of Lumon.