Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz | |
|---|---|
 Waltz at the 82nd Academy Awards in March 2010 | |
| Born | 4 October 1956 |
| 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 Colonel 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 and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009 and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2010.
Early life and career
Waltz was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of German set and stage designers Johannes Waltz and the Austrian Elisabeth Urbancic.[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.
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 Colonel 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 made his next movie Water for Elephants with Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, directed by Francis Lawrence. It was filmed in Ventura County, California; Georgia; and Tennessee.[15]
Personal life
Waltz is fluent in German, French, and English[16] 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.[17] He is divorced and has four children. One of his children currently lives in Israel and is an Orthodox rabbi (Waltz' first wife, a native of New York, was Jewish).[18][19][20] Waltz currently maintains residences in both London and Berlin.[21][22][23]
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 by Austrian law he was born with German citizenship as well. 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 it?"[24] He also holds a US-Green card.
Filmography
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Inglourious Basterds | Won |
| 2009 | Austin Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Inglourious Basterds | Won |
| 2009 | BAFTA Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Inglourious Basterds | Won |
| 2009 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actor | Inglourious Basterds | Won |
| 2009 | Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Inglourious Basterds | Won |
References
- ^ a b "Pass-Hickhack: Christoph Waltz wird im Eilverfahren zum Österreicher – Nachrichten Kultur – WELT ONLINE" (in Template:De icon). Welt.de. 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Der Standard: Österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft für Christoph Waltz, 8. August 2010
- ^ a b 21.01.2011 (2011-01-21). "Film: Waltz fühlt sich definitiv als Österreicher – Boulevard – FOCUS Online". Focus.de. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
{{cite web}}:|author=has numeric name (help) - ^ "Mainpost (in German)". Mainpost.de. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ Maria Mayen,
- ^ Emmerich Reimers. Emmerich Reimers
- ^ Lim, Dennis (2009-08-12). "'Inglourious' Actor Tastes the Glory". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Fleming, Michael (May 17, 2009). "Tarantino Reflects On 'Basterds'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ a b "BSFC Award Winners – Recent". Thebsfc.org. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ [3] Oscar Nominations
- ^ [4]. Official 2010 BAFTA results. 2010-02-21.
- ^ "''Inglorious Basterds feature". Network.nationalpost.com. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ "The Spectacular Filming Locations of Water For Elephants" - an article by Reel-Scout, (2011-05-03).
- ^ Billington, Alex (2009-08-20). "Interview: Col. Hans 'The Jew Hunter' Landa – Christoph Waltz". First Showing. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ [5][dead link]
- ^ Kimmel, Jimmy (2010-03-06). "Christoph Waltz on Jimmy Kimmel: Der Humpink". ABC. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Christoph Waltz on Jimmy Kimmel: Der Humpink". Nowpublic.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ Horn, Jordana (23 August 2009). "The inglourious basterd who rewrote Jewish history". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (2009-08-24). "Christoph Waltz: His brilliant portrayal commands attention". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ [6][dead link]
- ^ "Glorious Bastard –". Forward.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ "Waltz to become Austrian Citizen". 2010-08-26.
External links
- 1956 births
- Austrian film actors
- Austrian television actors
- Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- German film actors
- German television actors
- Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from London
- People from Vienna