Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz
Waltz at the 82nd Academy Awards in March 2010
Born	4 October 1956 (1956-10-04) (age 55) Vienna, Austria
Nationality	Austrian, German
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1977–present

Christoph Waltz (German pronunciation: [kristɔf valts]; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian-German actor.^[1][2][3] 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 BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009.

Early life

Waltz was born in Vienna, Austria. He is the son of German-born Johannes Waltz and Austrian-born Elisabeth Urbancic, set and stage designers.^[4] His maternal grandmother was Burgtheater actress Maria Mayen^[5] and his step-grandfather was actor Emmerich Reimers.^[6][7] His great-grandparents 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 actor on television. In 2000, he directed his first film, the TV production Wenn man sich traut.

In Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, Waltz portrayed SS Standartenführer Hans Landa, aka "The Jew Hunter". For this character who is courteous and speaks four languages but is self-serving, cunning and callous, Tarantino feared he "might have written a part that was un-playable".^[8] 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,^[9] Boston Society of Film Critics,^[10] Los Angeles Film Critics Association,^[10] and for Best Supporting Actor at the 67th Golden Globe Awards^[11] and the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2009. The following month, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor^[12] and won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.^[13]

Waltz won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 82nd Academy Awards. He is also, as of 2010, the only actor to win for appearing in a Quentin Tarantino film. Waltz is a method actor, and continued to portray Landa off the set of Inglorious Basterds. 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."^[14]

Waltz played the gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet. Also in 2011, he starred in Water for Elephants, with Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, directed by Francis Lawrence. It was filmed in Ventura County, California; Georgia; and Tennessee.

Personal life

Christoph Waltz and Judith Holste.

Waltz is fluent in German, French and English^[15] and speaks all three of the languages in Inglourious Basterds. Though his Landa character also spoke Italian in that movie, he stated on the Adam Carolla Podcast that he does not actually speak it in real life.^[16] He has three adult children from a prior marriage, and is raising a young daughter with his wife, costume designer Judith Holste.^[17] Waltz currently maintains residences in New York, London and Berlin .^[18][19][20]

Nationality

Waltz is a dual citizen of both Austria and Germany.^[1] He considers himself Austrian, calling his German passport a "legal, citizenship law banality".^[3] His father held German citizenship, so he was born with German citizenship as well. Due to this he is his own voice actor for German translations. 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?"^[21] He also holds a U.S. green card.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role
1982	Fire and Sword	Tristan
1986	Wahnfried	Nietzsche
1988	Alien Years, TheThe Alien Years	Stefan Mueller	Television
1995	Catherine the Great	Mirovich
1996	Inspector Rex	Herr Wolf	Television
1998	Final Game, TheThe Final Game	Kant
1998	merkwürdige Verhalten geschlechtsreifer Großstädter zur Paarungszeit, DasDas 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	Zürcher Verlobung - Drehbuch zur Liebe, DieDie Zürcher Verlobung - Drehbuch zur Liebe	Frank 'Büffel' Arbogast	Television
2007	Verzauberung, DieDie Verzauberung	Dr. Helmut Bahr	Television
2008	Geheimnis im Wald, DasDas Geheimnis im Wald	Hans Kortmann	Television
2008	Todsünde	Sebastian Flies	Television
2008	jüngste Gericht, DasDas jüngste Gericht	Peters	Television
2009	Inglourious Basterds	Col. Hans Landa	First American film role Academy 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 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 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 Assocation Award for Best Supporting Actor
2011	Green Hornet, TheThe Green Hornet	Benjamin Chudnofsky/Bloodnofsky	Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
2011	Water for Elephants	August Rosenbluth
2011	Carnage	Alan Cowan
2011	Three Musketeers, TheThe Three Musketeers	Cardinal Richelieu
2012	Django Unchained	Dr. King Schultz

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Pass-Hickhack: Christoph Waltz wird im Eilverfahren zum Österreicher – Nachrichten Kultur – WELT ONLINE" (in (German)). Welt.de. 2010-08-24. http://www.welt.de/kultur/article9173105/Christoph-Waltz-wird-im-Eilverfahren-zum-Oesterreicher.html. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
2. ^ Der Standard: Österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft für Christoph Waltz, 8. August 2010
3. ^ ^{a b} 21.01.2011 (2011-01-21). "Film: Waltz fühlt sich definitiv als Österreicher – Boulevard – FOCUS Online". Focus.de. http://www.focus.de/panorama/boulevard/film-waltz-fuehlt-sich-definitiv-als-oesterreicher_aid_543712.html. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
4. ^ "Mainpost (in German)". Mainpost.de. 2010-05-24. http://www.mainpost.de/nachrichten/kulturwelt/kultur/Christoph-Waltz-spielt-Brad-Pitt-an-die-Wand-Die-Cannes-Bilanz;art3809,5135954. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
5. ^ Maria Mayen,
6. ^ Emmerich Reimers. Emmerich Reimers
7. ^ Lim, Dennis (2009-08-12). "‘Inglourious’ Actor Tastes the Glory". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/movies/16lim.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
8. ^ Fleming, Michael (May 17, 2009). "Tarantino Reflects On 'Basterds'". Variety (Reed Business Information). http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1118003822&cs=1. Retrieved January 18, 2010. 
9. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
10. ^ ^{a b} "BSFC Award Winners – Recent". Thebsfc.org. http://www.thebsfc.org/CurrWin.html. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
11. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
12. ^ [3] Oscar Nominations
13. ^ [4]. Official 2010 BAFTA results. 2010-02-21.
14. ^ "''Inglorious Basterds feature". Network.nationalpost.com. 2009-08-27. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2009/08/27/christoph-waltz-thankful-for-quot-gift-quot-role-of-hans-landa-in-inglorious-basterds.aspx. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
15. ^ Billington, Alex (2009-08-20). "Interview: Col. Hans 'The Jew Hunter' Landa – Christoph Waltz". First Showing. http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/08/20/interview-hans-the-jew-hunter-landa-christoph-waltz/. Retrieved 2009-08-28. 
16. ^ [5]^{[dead link]}
17. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/2010-01-26-waltzinside26_ST_N.htm
18. ^ Breznican, Anthony (2009-08-24). "Christoph Waltz: His brilliant portrayal commands attention". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-08-23-waltz-profile_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-24. 
19. ^ [6]^{[dead link]}
20. ^ "Glorious Bastard –". Forward.com. http://www.forward.com/articles/112638/. Retrieved 2011-01-26. 
21. ^ "Waltz to become Austrian Citizen". 2010-08-26. http://www.wienerzeitung.at/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4082&Alias=wzo&cob=514287. 

External links

• Christoph Waltz at the Internet Movie Database
• Christoph Waltz Fans website

Persondata
Name	Waltz, Christoph
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	4 October 1956
Place of birth	Vienna, Austria
Date of death
Place of death