Christopher Walken ruined an original Banksy painting by covering it with paint during a TV scene.
The Hollywood actor, now 78, erased it by the anonymous artist while he was filming in Bristol his comedy drama, The Outlaws.
Anonymous street artist Banksy, who hails from Bristol, painted the image of a rat with two spray cans and his name especially for the BBC series which is set in his home city.
But, the mysterious painter and his show bosses were said to have collaborated on this scene.
Uh oh! Christopher Walken painted over a Banksy original Banksy art piece during an episode of his television show.
Six-part comedy-drama about a bunch of misfits that renovate a Bristol derelict community center as part community service.
Christopher plays Frank in the Stephen Merchant co-created show, with the character completing his community service by painting over graffiti in the final episode of the series.
Upon finding the artwork, Frank asks his probation officer Diane (played by Jessica Gunning) if he should paint over it.
Gone forever: The Hollywood actor, 78, erased the piece by the secretive artist as he cleaned up street graffiti while filming his comedy drama show The Outlaws in Bristol
Diane, however, is too distracted to see the art. She tells Frank all graffiti needs to be covered up and Frank will do as instructed.
The Outlaw’s spokesperson confirmed that: “We can confirm that Banksy’s artwork was at the End of The Outlaws, and that Christopher Walken covered it during filming, eventually destroying it.”
It has been discovered that Banksy was the one who agreed to the destruction of the art. He is a Bristolian and was said to have been a huge fan of Christopher.
Artwork: Anonymous street artist Banksy, who hails from Bristol, painted the image of a rat with two spray cans and his name especially for the BBC series which is set in his home city
Series: The six-part comedy-drama follows a group of misfits renovating a derelict community centre in Bristol as part of community service for various crimes they have committed
A source told The Sun: ‘The creative team came up with the dream scenario and got in touch with the artist’s representatives in the faint hope that he might help them.
‘Then they discovered shortly afterwards that he’d been to the location where they were filming and left something behind. They couldn’t believe their luck as he’d painted a giant rat using his hallmark stencilling technique as well as his distinctive signature.’
They added: ‘His only stipulation was that they really did paint over it — and it would be his hero Christopher holding the roller.’
Role: Christopher plays Frank in the Stephen Merchant co-created show, with the character completing his community service by painting over graffiti in the final episode of the series
Whoops: Upon finding the artwork, Frank asks his probation officer Diane if he should paint over it. Diane gets distracted by Frank’s graffiti and says that it must all be covered. Frank follows Diane’s lead.
It comes after a Banksy artwork that half-shredded itself has sold for £18.6 million – four times its estimate last month.
Onlookers gasped when the then-titled ‘Girl with Balloon’ was sucked into a concealed shredder as the hammer fell following a bid of £1.04million pounds at a 2018 auction at Sotheby’s.
An anonymous street artist sold the unique item now called “Love is in the Bin” and it is still available for sale with a price estimate of up to £6million.
Planned: However, it’s been revealed that the wrecking of the artwork was pre-agreed by Bristol native Banksy, who is said to be a big fan of Hollywood legend Christopher (pictured in 2018)
But the artwork blew out all expectations by selling for £18.6million – a new record for a Banksy piece – to a private investor represented by bidder Nick Buckley Wood.
The sale, which saw nine bidders battle for 10 minutes for the work, beats the previous record of £16.75 million set for a Banksy in March.
It may have shred, but some people believe otherwise. It did. It was.
‘Love is in the Bin’: It comes after a Banksy artwork that half-shredded itself has sold for £18.6 million – four times its estimate last month