If you’ve watched even five minutes of Severance on Apple TV+, you probably felt it. That weird, quiet, almost fragile pull between Burt and Irving. It isn’t just good acting. Honestly, it’s a fifty-year conversation that we just happened to walk in on. Christopher Walken and John Turturro aren't just "co-stars" in the way Hollywood usually spits out that term. They are old-school New York peers who have been orbiting each other since the early eighties.
They didn't meet on a red carpet. No, it was way more "actor-y" than that. Turturro was actually an usher at the Yale Repertory Theatre while he was a grad student, and Walken was onstage. Fast forward a few decades, and they’ve shared frozen film sets, directed each other in weird indie passion projects, and shared enough banana bread to fuel a small army.
The Brutal New Jersey Shoot That Started It All
The first time they actually shared the screen was back in 1995 for a flick called Search and Destroy. It was March. It was New Jersey. Basically, it was miserable.
Walken and Turturro have both reminisced about how cold it was on that set—so cold the camera literally froze and wouldn't turn. They were stuck in a car with Griffin Dunne, doing take after take, losing the lead car, running out of film. The crew told them they didn’t get the shot. The actors didn't care. They knew they’d done something good.
That "something" is what you see in Severance now. Turturro was actually the one who personally pitched Walken for the role of Burt. Think about that for a second. Most actors at that level are protective of their "space." Turturro? He just wanted his friend there. He knew that if he had to fall in love on camera, he wanted to do it with someone he already trusted implicitly.
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A Resume of Shared Weirdness
Most people only know them from the big hits, but their collaborative history is deep. Walken has actually appeared in three movies that Turturro directed. That’s a lot of trust.
- Illuminata (1998): A love letter to the theater where they both feel most at home.
- Romance & Cigarettes (2005): A "homemade musical" that is as strange as it sounds. Walken dancing to "Delilah" is one of those things you can't unsee (and wouldn't want to).
- The Jesus Rolls (2019): A spinoff of The Big Lebowski world where they re-teamed once again.
There’s also Gods Behaving Badly and Search and Destroy. They keep finding their way back to each other. It’s like they have this shorthand. Walken has said that when you see two people who have known each other for 50 years, you just know. It’s in the way they finish sentences. It's in the way they look at each other. You can't fake that kind of history with a chemistry read.
Why Their Connection Works in Severance
In Severance, the whole premise is that these characters don’t know who they are outside of work. Their brains are literally split. But the show argues that the heart might have a better memory than the brain. When Irving (Turturro) looks at Burt (Walken), there’s a flicker of something ancient.
Turturro has mentioned in interviews how he brings homemade treats to the set. His wife bakes, and he shares it with Chris. Walken, now in his eighties, doesn't even stream his own show—he doesn't have the equipment. He watches it on DVDs. It’s that level of "unplugged" reality that makes their bond feel so grounded in an otherwise sci-fi, sterile world.
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"Unpredictability, spontaneity. I have fun—a lot of fun." — John Turturro on why he keeps hiring Christopher Walken.
The Power of Being Unpredictable
Walken is famous for his "Walken-isms"—the pauses, the strange emphasis, the dance moves. Turturro loves this. He has described Walken as having the playfulness of a child. While other actors are stressing about their "process" or their ego, these two are just playing.
They don't call it a "bromance." That’s too trendy, too cheap for what they have. Walken says they "get along." Turturro calls it a "return engagement." It’s professional respect mixed with genuine affection. It’s rare.
What This Means for You
Watching these two work is a masterclass in longevity. In an industry that usually throws people away after forty, they are doing their best, most tender work in their senior years.
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If you want to really appreciate what Christopher Walken and John Turturro bring to the table, don't just stick to the viral clips. Watch Romance & Cigarettes to see them being absolutely fearless and "foolish" together. Then go back to Severance and watch how they use silence.
Next Steps for the Super-Fan:
- Track down "The Jesus Rolls": It’s a polarizing movie, but seeing them together in a more chaotic environment is a great contrast to the stillness of Severance.
- Watch the People TV "Interview Each Other" segment: It’s on YouTube. You’ll see them giggling like kids. It explains more about their chemistry than any article ever could.
- Pay attention to the background in Severance Season 2: Their characters' outies (their real-world selves) have a history that the show is only starting to peel back. Look for the "long-term friend" cues in their physical acting.
The magic of this duo isn't just that they are great actors. It’s that they actually like each other. In a world of fake Hollywood friendships, that's the most "unpredictable" thing of all.