Actors really do get to have all the fun. While filming his new TV show, Christopher Walken got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to destroy a Banksy painting. An actual Banksy painting.
The chance arose as the Hollywood legend was filming the season finale of the new BBC One show, The Outlaws, which aired this week. In one scene, Walken’s character, Frank, ruins a Banksy original while undergoing community service.
“We can confirm that the artwork at the end of The Outlaws was an original Banksy, and that Christopher Walken painted over that artwork during the filming of this scene, ultimately destroying it,” a BBC spokesperson said in a statement after the episode went out.
Not to worry though because Banksy was in the loop the whole time. As reported by the New York Post, “set designers brought in (the piece of art) with permission from the artist himself to have it destroyed.” Walken’s damage was also done in one take.
The actor isn’t actually the first person to destroy a Banksy work. Last year, some cleaners mistakenly removed one of his originals from the London Underground, believing it to be just some random graffiti. Banksy himself has seemed fond of destroying his own work in the past as well.
The Outlaws is the new work from Stephen Merchant, co-creator of classic sitcoms The Office and Extras alongside Ricky Gervais. The six-part comic thriller follows seven very different strangers as they’re forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol, England (Banksy’s hometown).
Their luck soon changes when they find a bag full of money, completely unaware that some dangerous people are on the lookout for it.
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Released on BBC One and Amazon Prime Video, it’s already been confirmed for a second season. Walken stars alongside Merchant, Darren Boyd, Rhianne Barreto, and Gamba Cole.
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Check out the trailer for The Outlaws:
