Christopher Walken has been cast as Captain Hook in NBC's upcoming live Peter Pan musical, Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment, said Sunday.
"I'm happy to announce today that Captain Hook will be played by Christopher Walken," Greenblatt stated at NBC's Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills. "He's fearless as a comedic actor and always comes to play. I guarantee you he will bring his own spin to Captain Hook, and it might be the first tap-dancing Captain Hook you've ever seen."
While he remained mum on who would don Peter Pan's green tights, Greenblatt did confirm a woman would be cast in the role, and revealed that he had wanted Kristen Bell for the part. However, the time commitment required (the actor has to be available full-time starting August 5) would have clashed with the shooting schedule for her Showtime series, House of Lies. Also, NBC approached Bell before she announced her pregnancy, which would have made flying a wee bit difficult.
Set to air December 4, Peter Pan follows last year's success with The Sound of Music Live!, a TV event starring Carrie Underwood that drew 18.6 million viewers — and three times as many snarky tweets — when it aired in Dec. 2013.
"He's one of the most unique actors in our business," Greenblatt added of Walken. "But he might really be a song-and-dance man at heart."
A fact you can revel in with his performances in Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" music video and a scene from Hairspray.
