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 actor, who also holds German citizenship.[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, and his step-grandfather was actor Emmerich Reimers. His great-grandparents also worked in the theatre.[5]
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.[6]
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 un-playable".[7] 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,[8] Boston Society of Film Critics,[9] Los Angeles Film Critics Association,[9] and for Best Supporting Actor at the 67th Golden Globe Awards and the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2009. The following month, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor[10] and won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.[11]
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 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".[12] Waltz played gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet (2011); that same year he starred in Water for Elephants, opposite Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon.
Personal life
Waltz is fluent in German, French and English[13] and speaks all three of the languages in Inglourious Basterds. 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.[14] Waltz currently maintains residences in New York, London and Berlin. [15][16]
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. 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?"[17]
Filmography
References
- ^ a b "Pass-Hickhack: Christoph Waltz wird im Eilverfahren zum Österreicher – Nachrichten Kultur" (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.de. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
{{cite web}}:|author=has numeric name (help) - ^ "Mainpost". Mainpost.de. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ Lim, Dennis (2009-08-12). "'Inglourious' Actor Tastes the Glory". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
- ^ "IMDB". Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ^ 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] Oscar Nominations
- ^ Official 2010 BAFTA results
- ^ "''Inglorious Basterds feature". Network.nationalpost.com. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ 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) - ^ Freydkin, Donna (2010-01-26). "At long last, movie stardom shines on Christoph Waltz". USA Today.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (2009-08-24). "Christoph Waltz: His brilliant portrayal commands attention". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
- ^ "Glorious Bastard". Forward.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ "Waltz to become an Austrian citizen". 2010-08-26.
External links
- 1956 births
- Austrian film actors
- Austrian television actors
- Best Actor Empire Award winners
- 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