Christoph Waltz is a renowned Austrian-German actor, particularly recognized for his collaborations with American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. He has received widespread acclaim for his portrayals of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained, both of which earned him Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Waltz hails from a theatrical family. His mother, Elisabeth Urbancic, was a costume designer, while his father, Johannes Waltz, was a stage builder. Waltz has three siblings, and his maternal grandmother was a Viennese Burgtheater actress. His maternal grandfather, Rudolf von Urban, was a psychologist and psychiatrist who wrote the book "Sex Perfection and Marital Happiness".
Waltz attended the Theresianium and Billrothstrasse in Vienna before moving to New York to study at the Lee Strasberg Institute. During the 1980s, he primarily worked in theatre, commuting from London to Germany. He gradually transitioned to television, taking one-off roles in series and TV movies, before landing film roles.
Waltz's breakthrough came when he met Quentin Tarantino, which led to his role as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. His performance catapulted him to international stardom and earned him numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He has since appeared in a range of films, including The Zero Theorem, Big Eyes, Spectre, and The Green Hornet. Waltz has also worked with Roman Polanski on Carnage and starred in a remake of The Three Musketeers. In 2012, he played German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained, a role written specifically for him by Tarantino.
Waltz resides in Berlin and Los Angeles with his wife, costume builder Judith Holste.
