The actor befriended a lion called Sheba when he worked for this unusual job
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
As many teens do, Christopher Walken worked numerous seasonal jobs to have a little extra cash. When he was 16, the actor came across an ad in the trade paper for a position at a traveling circus owned by a man called Terrell Jacobs, who was also a lion tamer. He and Jacobs would perform an act in identical outfits, and Walken would pretend to be his son.
“When he would finish his act, there would be one lion left, and I used to go in and have this lion do tricks,” the actor explained in an interview with Vanity Fair, adding, “It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really. I would have a whip, and she would run and sit up and roll over and do things.” While it is unclear as to how long Walken had the summer job for, it’s clear that the actor thoroughly enjoyed his time with the animal, who would “come up and bump your leg like a house cat,” he told IndieWire. A very big house cat at that.
The Surprising Job Christopher Walken Had Before He Was Famous
Laurent Viteur/Getty Images
By Sophie McEvoy/June 27, 2021 4:40 pm EST
However, before he made the transition from dance to musical theater in his teens, there was one job Walken had which will likely come as a big surprise.
The actor befriended a lion called Sheba when he worked for this unusual job
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
As many teens do, Christopher Walken worked numerous seasonal jobs to have a little extra cash. When he was 16, the actor came across an ad in the trade paper for a position at a traveling circus owned by a man called Terrell Jacobs, who was also a lion tamer. He and Jacobs would perform an act in identical outfits, and Walken would pretend to be his son.
“When he would finish his act, there would be one lion left, and I used to go in and have this lion do tricks,” the actor explained in an interview with Vanity Fair, adding, “It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really. I would have a whip, and she would run and sit up and roll over and do things.” While it is unclear as to how long Walken had the summer job for, it’s clear that the actor thoroughly enjoyed his time with the animal, who would “come up and bump your leg like a house cat,” he told IndieWire. A very big house cat at that.
“When he would finish his act, there would be one lion left, and I used to go in and have this lion do tricks,” the actor explained in an interview with Vanity Fair, adding, “It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really. I would have a whip, and she would run and sit up and roll over and do things.”
While it is unclear as to how long Walken had the summer job for, it’s clear that the actor thoroughly enjoyed his time with the animal, who would “come up and bump your leg like a house cat,” he told IndieWire. A very big house cat at that.
