| Christoph Waltz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Name | Christoph Waltz |
| Birth | 4 October, 1956 (aged 67) Vienna, Austria |
| Gender | Male |
| Years Active | 1977-present |
| Nationality | German (1956-present); Austrian (2010-present) |
- “What makes him so intriguing is exactly that; he’s not driven by an ideology. When people say “Nazi”, it’s such a gross generalization, I feel. And sometimes I feel compelled to say, “Well, he’s not even a Nazi.” Yes, he wears that uniform, but he doesn’t care. Not about Nazi ideology. He’s completely unideological. He just understands how the world turns, and in that way, he’s three steps ahead of everyone else.”
- ―Christoph Waltz on his character[1]
Christoph Waltz (kristɔf valts); born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian actor, who also holds German citizenship.
He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009.
Early life[]
Christoph Waltz was born in Vienna, Austria. He is the son of German-born Johannes Waltz and Austrian-born Elisabeth Urbancic, set and stage designers. His maternal grandmother was Burgtheater actress Maria Mayen, and his step-grandfather was actor Emmerich Reimers. His great-grandparents also worked in the theatre.
Career[]
Waltz studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. He also attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. He started as a stage actor, performing at venues such as Zurich's Schauspielhaus Zürich, Vienna's Burgtheater, and the Salzburg Festival. He became a prolific television actor. In 2000, he made his directorial debut, with the German-language television production Wenn man sich traut.
In Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, Waltz portrayed SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa, aka "The Jew-Hunter". Clever, courteous and multilingual, but also self-serving, cunning, implacable, and murderous, the character of Landa was such that Tarantino feared he "might have written a part that was unplayable". Waltz received the Best Actor Award for the performance at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and received acclaim from critics and the public. In 2009, he began sweeping critics' awards circuits, receiving awards for Best Supporting Actor from the New York Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and for Best Supporting Actor at the 67th Golden Globe Awards and the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2009. The following year, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.
Until 2019, when Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his role in Once upon a time in Hollywood, Waltz was the only actor to win an award for appearing in a Quentin Tarantino film. Tarantino acknowledged the importance of Waltz to his film by stating: "I think that Landa is one of the best characters I've ever written and ever will write, and Christoph played it to a tee... It's true that if I couldn't have found someone as good as Christoph I might not have made Inglourious Basterds". Waltz later played gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet (2011). That same year he starred in Water for Elephants, opposite Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, and in Roman Polanski's Carnage with Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Kate Winslet. In 2012 he played Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained (2012), Tarantino's next film after Inlgourious Basterds.
Personal life[]
Christoph Waltz is fluent in German, French, and English and speaks all three of the languages in Inglourious Basterds (2009). Although Landa also spoke Italian in that movie, he stated on the Adam Carolla Podcast that he does not actually speak it in real life. He is his own voice-actor for German translations.
He has three adult children from a prior marriage, and is raising a young daughter with his wife, costume designer Judith Holste. Waltz currently maintains residences between New York, London, and Berlin.
Nationality[]
Christoph Waltz is a dual citizen of both Austria and Germany. He considers himself Austrian, calling his German passport a "legal, citizenship law banality". His father held German citizenship, so he was born with German citizenship as well. He became an Austrian citizen after his Oscar win in 2010.
During a press conference he said: "I was born in Vienna, grew up in Vienna, went to school in Vienna, graduated in Vienna, studied in Vienna, started acting in Vienna – and there would be a few further Viennese links. How much more Austrian do you want?"
Trivia[]
- Christoph Waltz's first week on set of Inglourious Basterds was also his first scene in the film.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Parole Chicago | Eduard "Ede" Bredo | TV series, starring role |
| 1982 | Fire and Sword | Tristan | |
| 1986 | Wahnfried | Friedrich Nietzsche | |
| 1988 | The Alien Years | Stefan Mueller | Television |
| 1995 | Catherine the Great | Mirovich | |
| 1996 | Inspector Rex | Herr Wolf | Television |
| 1998 | The Final Game | Kant | |
| 1998 | Das merkwürdige Verhalten geschlechtsreifer Großstädter zur Paarungszeit | Charly | Television |
| 2000 | Death, Deceit and Destiny Aboard the Orient Express | Brian | |
| 2000 | Ordinary Decent Criminal | Peter | |
| 2000 | Falling Rocks | Louis | Television |
| 2003 | Herr Lehmann | Doctor | |
| 2007 | Die Zürcher Verlobung - Drehbuch zur Liebe | Frank 'Büffel' Arbogast | Television |
| 2007 | Die Verzauberung | Dr. Helmut Bahr | Television |
| 2008 | Das Geheimnis im Wald | Hans Kortmann | Television |
| 2008 | Todsünde | Sebastian Flies | Television |
| 2008 | Das jüngste Gericht | Peters | Television |
| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Col Hans Landa<tdAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)>Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Empire Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor– Motion Picture Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actor New York Film Critics Online Award for Breakthrough Performer North Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor– Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Village Voice Film Poll– Best Supporting Actor Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Detroit Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Breakthrough Performance Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Villain Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor |
|
| 2011 | The Green Hornet | Benjamin Chudnofsky/Bloodnofsky | Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| 2011 | Water for Elephants | August Rosenbluth | |
| 2011 | The Three Musketeers | Cardinal Richelieu | |
| 2011 | Carnage | Alan Cowan<td Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Detroit Film Critics Society>Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated — San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble]] Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
|
| 2012 | Django Unchained | Dr. King Schultz |
Gallery[]
References[]
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