Christopher Walken shot a scene in The Outlaws season 2 which involves him painting over a genuine Banksy artwork. Banksy is an anonymous artist who uses graffiti in public to combine dark humor with political and social commentary. In the years since his debut, Banksy's work has sold for millions at auctions and are highly sought after, both by art collectors and the cities he visits. Banksy's work originated in Bristol, England, where The Outlaws is set.
The Outlaws follows a group of strangers forced to do community service in repentance for petty crimes, through cleaning up litter and painting over graffiti. They soon discover a bag full of money, and have to grapple with the consequences of dealing with very dangerous people. The Outlaws was created by Stephen Merchant, known for co-creating the original version of The Office, and for his performances in movies like Logan, Jojo Rabbit, and Hot Fuzz.
In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Merchant confirms that the painting used in the series was a genuine Banksy, created specifically for Walken to paint over. Merchant explains that since the show was shot in Bristol, they reached out to Banksy's associates and were able to get him to paint the piece for the series. He says they then kept the painting a secret from the cast and crew, until revealing it to Walken, after which they had to get the shot of him painting over it on the first try. Read Merchant's quote below:
His art first appeared in Bristol... so someone said, 'What if we tried and contact the real Banksy, and get him to do a piece of art for the show? And then we'll ask Christopher Walken to paint over it. We managed to find some go-betweens, and we got word to Banksy, and he said 'If I have time, I will do this.' So we showed up one morning, just me and a few others, and there was an original Banksy painted on this building we were using as a set. We covered it up, hid it from the cast, from the crew, about six weeks later I went to Christopher's trailer I said 'We've had an original Banksy here for six weeks, we're gonna paint over it this morning, and you're gonna do it.' No one knows about it, and we had like one shot to get it right, and we got it, and we included it in the show.
With The Outlaws and Merchant's connection to Bristol, it's quite remarkable that they were able to get a painting from the famously private Banksy. There are plenty of TV series with more profile, but it's unlikely that any of them would have been able to swing such a collaboration. Given Banksy's anarchic spirit and expression through temporary art, it's likely the show's intention to immediately destroy his work, likely worth millions in the art world, was a key factor in convincing him to create an original just for them.
It's remarkable that in an age of non-privacy, Banksy has been able to not only maintain his anonymity, but stay true to the work that made him famous to begin with. Though the artwork seen on The Outlaws is a relatively minor note in Banksy's career, the fact that he took the time to make it with the intention of having it destroyed is an interesting study in the artist's relationship with their work. In the end, Merchant's show stands on its own with its sharp writing and strong performances, and now The Outlaws season 2 contains an interesting footnote in the art collecting world.