---
name: "Christoph Waltz"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/christoph-waltz"
fi1m_id: "christoph-waltz"
imdb_id: "nm0910607"
tmdb_id: 27319
wikidata_id: "Q76819"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "4 October 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 14
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 14
updated: "2026-10-05T15:09:21.971501+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Christoph Waltz

## Identity

Christoph Waltz

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/christoph-waltz
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** christoph-waltz
- **IMDb ID:** nm0910607
- **TMDB ID:** 27319
- **Wikidata ID:** Q76819
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Waltz, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76819, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910607/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/27319

Actor. Born 4 October 1956 in Vienna, Austria.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 4 October 1956, Vienna, Austria
- **Active:** 2009–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Guillermo del Toro](https://film.one/person/guillermo-del-toro.md), [Quentin Tarantino](https://film.one/person/quentin-tarantino.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as actor, over 14 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 92 (1), 2010s 64 (7), 2020s 69 (6)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 64 across 14 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 9 at 60–79, 3 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 5 of 12 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Adventure 7, Drama 7, Action 4, Comedy 4, Fantasy 4, Thriller 4
- **Screen time:** 30 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $3,698m across 13 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Waltz, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76819, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910607/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/27319

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio*](https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio.md) (80), [*Frankenstein*](https://film.one/film/frankenstein.md) (74)
- **Apple TV:** [*Big Eyes*](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md) (64), [*Downsizing*](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md) (60)
- **Disney+:** [*Inglourious Basterds*](https://film.one/film/inglourious-basterds.md) (92)
- **AMC+:** [*Django Unchained*](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md) (78)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Three Musketeers*](https://film.one/film/the-three-musketeers-2011.md) (50)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Christoph Waltz

> Christoph Waltz makes good manners the frightening thing. He talks, in several languages, as if every sentence were a pleasure he wants to share; the menace is in how long the pleasure goes on. Given a script that knows this, he is hard to beat.

Colonel Hans Landa asks for a glass of milk. He has been offered wine, at a farmhouse kitchen table in occupied France, and he declines it, and he drinks the milk with such pleasure and such good manners that the farmer opposite cannot tell whether he is being flattered or hunted. He is being hunted. Nothing in *Inglourious Basterds* (2009) is louder than that scene and nothing needs to be. We held our breath for most of it, and what did it was the courtesy: Waltz makes politeness the thing to be afraid of, which almost nobody else on screen can do.

He arrived with that performance fully made. He had spent decades in Austrian and German theatre and television, with detours into British programmes such as *The Gravy Train* (1990), before Tarantino cast him at 53 as an SS colonel who moves between German, French and English the way other people change chairs. Robert Richardson lit that kitchen through one window and Sally Menke held on him while he finished sentences nobody wanted finished, and the whole film rests on him; the men it is named after nearly sink it. Three years later Tarantino wrote Dr King Schultz for him in *Django Unchained* (2012), a dentist who shoots people for money with the manners of a man returning a library book. It is the same trick turned inside out, courtesy as a kindness rather than a threat, and Jamie Foxx's Django, watching and saying little, is the right audience for it.

Since then the parts have mostly asked for the menace and not the mind. His Blofeld in *Spectre* (2015) has the soft voice and the amused patience he is hired for, and then the script hands him a grievance so small that we laughed when it was explained, and the film did not mean us to. Harlander, the arms dealer in Guillermo del Toro's *Frankenstein* (2025), is there to sign cheques and look sinister, and Waltz does both as if he has read the script once. Del Toro has used him twice; Tarantino wrote for him. That is the difference. Waltz builds a performance out of what is on the page, and when there is little on the page he does not invent it.

He has said, "I don't owe Tarantino my craft, but I do owe him my place," and both halves seem right. The craft is his own: the precision, the pleasure in a well-turned sentence, the relaxed attention that draws the eye without a raised voice. The place has turned out narrower than it should be. Even as a cartoon villain in *Minions & Monsters* (2026) he purrs as if every line has a contract attached, and that is the joke. *Big Eyes* (2014) and *Alita: Battle Angel* (2019) tried him as something other than the man across the table, though we have not reviewed either. Give him a kitchen table and a long enough speech, and we still hold our breath.

## Biography

Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He was born in Vienna on 4 October 1956 into a theatrical family.

Waltz gained international recognition for his portrayal of SS Colonel Hans Landa in *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as BAFTA, Golden Globe and Cannes awards. He won a second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. King Schultz in *Django Unchained* (2012).

His other credits include Blofeld in *Spectre* (2015) and *No Time to Die* (2021), and more recent roles as Harlander in *Frankenstein* (2025) and the voice of Max in *Minions & Monsters* (2026).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (14)

- *Minions & Monsters* (2026), Fi1m 70, as Max (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/minions-and-monsters.md)
- *Dracula* (2025), Fi1m 55, as Priest — [page](https://film.one/film/dracula-2025.md)
- *Frankenstein* (2025), Fi1m 74, as Harlander — [page](https://film.one/film/frankenstein.md)
- *Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* (2022), Fi1m 80, as Count Volpe (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio.md)
- *No Time to Die* (2021), Fi1m 67, as Blofeld — [page](https://film.one/film/no-time-to-die.md)
- *The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* (2021), Fi1m 68, as Paul Duval — [page](https://film.one/film/the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun.md)
- *Alita: Battle Angel* (2019), Fi1m 72, as Dr. Dyson Ido — [page](https://film.one/film/alita-battle-angel.md)
- *Downsizing* (2017), Fi1m 60, as Dusan Mirkovic — [page](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md)
- *Spectre* (2015), Fi1m 58, as Blofeld — [page](https://film.one/film/spectre.md)
- *Big Eyes* (2014), Fi1m 64, as Walter Keane — [page](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md)
- *Muppets Most Wanted* (2014), Fi1m 66, as Christoph Waltz — [page](https://film.one/film/muppets-most-wanted.md)
- *Django Unchained* (2012), Fi1m 78, as Dr. King Schultz — [page](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md)
- *The Three Musketeers* (2011), Fi1m 50, as Richelieu — [page](https://film.one/film/the-three-musketeers-2011.md)
- *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), Fi1m 92, as COL. Hans Landa — [page](https://film.one/film/inglourious-basterds.md)

## Complete filmography (137)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Minions & Monsters* (2026), as Max (voice) — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/minions-and-monsters.md)
- *Frankenstein* (2025), as Harlander — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/frankenstein.md)
- *Dracula* (2025), as Priest — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/dracula-2025.md)
- *Old Guy* (2024), as Danny Dolinski
- *The Portable Door* (2023), as Humphrey Wells / John Wells Snr
- *The Consultant* (2023), series, as Regus Patoff · Executive Producer
- *Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio* (2022), as Count Volpe (voice) — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/guillermo-del-toros-pinocchio.md)
- *Dead for a Dollar* (2022), as Max Borlund · Executive Producer
- *The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun* (2021), as Paul Duval — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-french-dispatch-of-the-liberty-kansas-evening-sun.md)
- *No Time to Die* (2021), as Blofeld — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/no-time-to-die.md)
- *Only Murders in the Building* (2021), series, as Bash Steed — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/only-murders-in-the-building.md)
- *Rifkin's Festival* (2020), as Death
- *Little Berlin* (2020), as Narrator
- *Staged* (2020), series, as Christoph
- *Most Dangerous Game* (2020), series, as Miles Sellars
- *Most Dangerous Game* (2020), as Miles Sellars
- *Fidelio* (2020), Director
- *Georgetown* (2019), as Ulrich Mott · Director
- *Alita: Battle Angel* (2019), as Dr. Dyson Ido — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/alita-battle-angel.md)
- *Downsizing* (2017), as Dusan Mirkovic — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/downsizing.md)
- *Tulip Fever* (2017), as Cornelis Sandvoort
- *The Legend of Tarzan* (2016), as Captain Leon Rom
- *Spectre* (2015), as Blofeld — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/spectre.md)
- *Big Eyes* (2014), as Walter Keane — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md)
- *Horrible Bosses 2* (2014), as Bert Hanson
- *Muppets Most Wanted* (2014), as Christoph Waltz — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/muppets-most-wanted.md)
- *The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers* (2013), as Menachem Begin (voice)
- *The Zero Theorem* (2013), as Qohen Leth · Co-Producer
- *Epic* (2013), as Mandrake (voice)
- *Ode to Joy* (2013), as The Man
- *Django Unchained* (2012), as Dr. King Schultz — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md)
- *It Is No Dream: The Life Of Theodor Herzl* (2012), as Theodor Herzl (voice)
- *Carnage* (2011), as Alan Cowan
- *The Three Musketeers* (2011), as Richelieu — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/the-three-musketeers-2011.md)
- *Water for Elephants* (2011), as August Rosenbluth
- *The Green Hornet* (2011), as Chudnofsky
- *Inglourious Basterds* (2009), as COL. Hans Landa — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/inglourious-basterds.md)
- *Todsünde* (2008), as Sebastian Flies
- *Das Geheimnis im Wald* (2008), as Hans Kortmann
- *Das jüngste Gericht* (2008), series, as Peters
- *Die Anwälte* (2008), series, as Herbert Jahn
- *Die Zürcher Verlobung - Drehbuch zur Liebe* (2007), as Frank 'Büffel' Arbogast
- *Die Verzauberung* (2007), as Dr. Helmut Bahr
- *Franziskas Gespür für Männer* (2006), as Karl Löwen
- *Kommissar Stolberg* (2006), series, as Paul Büttner
- *Lapislazuli - Im Auge des Bären* (2006), as Czerny
- *Der Staatsanwalt* (2005), series, as Dr. Claudius Tressen
- *Die Patriarchin* (2005), series, as Wolf Sevening
- *Schöne Witwen küssen besser* (2004), series, as Jean-France
- *Mörderische Suche* (2004), as Richard Benedek
- *Der Elefant: Mord verjährt nie* (2004), series, as Richard Seemann
- *Scheidungsopfer Mann* (2004), as Benedikt von Arn
- *Berlin Blues* (2003), as Arzt
- *Tiger Eyes See Better* (2003), as Dr. Thilo Rylow
- *Jennerwein* (2003), as Pföderl
- *Two Days of Hope* (2003), as Michael Berg
- *Dorian* (2003), as Rolf Steiner
- *Der Mörder ist unter uns* (2003), as Martin Bach
- *Dienstreise - Was für eine Nacht* (2003), as Klaus-Dieter Lehmann
- *Jagd auf den Flammenmann* (2003), as Brisky
- *Angst* (2003), as Analytiker
- *Gun-shy* (2003), as Johannsen
- *Weihnachtsmann gesucht* (2002), as Johannes Böhmke
- *Under Suspicion* (2002), series, as Thomas Sell
- *Der Tanz mit dem Teufel - Die Entführung des Richard Oetker* (2001), as Dieter Cilov
- *Der Tanz mit dem Teufel - Die Entführung des Richard Oetker* (2001), series, as Dieter Cilov
- *Rieke's Love* (2001), as Trainer Peter Karlhoff
- *Death, Deceit & Destiny Aboard the Orient Express* (2001), as Ossama/Tarik
- *Engel sucht Flügel* (2001), as Caspari
- *Queen's Messenger* (2001), as Ben Samm
- *She Who Must Be Obeyed* (2001), as Michael Vincey
- *The Beast* (2000), as Finanzbeamter Fink
- *Falling Rocks* (2000), as Louis
- *Wenn man sich traut* (2000), Director
- *Ordinary Decent Criminal* (2000), as Peter
- *Dessine-moi un jouet* (1999), as Klaus Hermann
- *Die Braut* (1999), as Herzog Carl August
- *Mörderisches Erbe - Tausch mit einer Toten* (1998), as Moritz Fink
- *Love Scenes from Planet Earth* (1998), as Charly
- *Night Time* (1998), as Becker
- *Der letzte Zeuge* (1998), series, as Martin York
- *Vickys Alptraum* (1998), as Johnny
- *Das Finale* (1998), as Kant
- *Rache für mein totes Kind* (1998), as Paul
- *Einsteins Ende* (1998), Actor
- *Blutsbrüder* (1997), as Klaus Mandel
- *Schimanski* (1997), series, as Klaus Mandel
- *Our God's Brother* (1997), as Max, Maksymilian Gierymski
- *You Are Not Alone - The Roy Black Story* (1996), as Roy Black
- *Catherine the Great* (1996), as Mirovich
- *Die Staatsanwältin* (1995), series, as Andreas Doepke
- *The Tourist* (1995), as Stephan Görner
- *Ein Anfang von etwas* (1995), as Herbert Sobieski
- *Man in Search of Woman* (1995), as Christoph
- *Prinz zu entsorgen* (1995), as Roman Hertz
- *Jacob* (1994), as Morasch
- *Inspector Rex* (1994), series, as Martin Wolf
- *Rosa Roth* (1994), series, as Wietze
- *Tag der Abrechnung - Der Amokläufer von Euskirchen* (1994), as Erwin Mikolajczyk
- *Faust* (1994), series, as Gerhardt Schulze-Leitner
- *A King for Burning* (1993), series, as Jan Bockelson
- *5 Zimmer, Küche, Bad* (1992), as Hartwig Klemmnitz
- *Die Angst wird bleiben* (1992), as Manfred
- *The Gravy Train Goes East* (1991), series, as Han-Joachim Dorfmann
- *St. Petri Schnee* (1991), Actor
- *Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe* (1991), as Jan Tytz
- *Napoleon* (1991), series, as Karl Emmanuel
- *The Gravy Train* (1990), series, as Dr. Hans-Joachim Dorfmann
- *Goldeneye* (1989), as German Spy
- *Quicker Than the Eye* (1989), as Polizeichef
- *The Mortal Fortune* (1989), as Guy on Train (uncredited)
- *The Alien Years* (1988), series, as Stefan Mueller
- *Das andere Leben* (1987), as Stefan
- *Der einsame Weg* (1987), as Felix
- *Lenz oder die Freiheit* (1986), series, as Franz Sigel
- *The Lenz Papers* (1986), as Franz Sigel
- *Wahnfried* (1986), as Friedrich Nietzsche
- *Die Wupper* (1985), as August Puderbach, Färber
- *The Sandman* (1983), as Nathanael
- *The Mysterious Stranger* (1982), as Ernst Wasserman
- *Dr. Margarete Johnsohn* (1982), as Rainer
- *Fire and Sword* (1982), as Tristan
- *Headstand* (1982), as Markus Dorn
- *A Case For Two* (1981), series, as Alf
- *The World Machine* (1981), as Young Painter / New York Diner Youth
- *Parole Chicago* (1979), series, as Ede
- *Feuer!* (1979), as Karl Albrecht Schlick
- *Breakthrough* (1979), as Paramedic
- *Die goldene Rose von Montreux* (1978), Actor
- *Der Einstand* (1977), as Günter Vesely
- *The Old Fox* (1977), series, as Hans Baumeister, Christian Kamp
- *Derrick* (1974), series, as Eberhard Bothe, Schumann
- *Polizeiruf 110* (1971), series, as Dr. Grins
- *Scene of the Crime* (1970), series, as Inspektor Passini, Gerd Weißenbach, Prof. Robert Henze
- *Wilder & Me*, as Billy Wilder
- *Every Note Played*, as Richard
- *Gilded Rage*, as Thomas Gilbert Sr.

## Gallery

- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-1f55aa36db2c.jpg) Christoph Waltz — LucaFazPhoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Christoph_Waltz_at_82nd_Venice_International_Film_Festival-1_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Christoph_Waltz_at_82nd_Venice_International_Film_Festival-1_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![BAFTA's 2013.](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-8bb5ce0fdd9a.jpg) BAFTA's 2013. — Sean Reynolds from Liverpool, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/BAFTA%27s_2013_%288464890384%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Christoph Waltz on the red carpet of the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010.](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-8f98b84b8e36.jpg) Christoph Waltz on the red carpet of the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010. — Zadi Diaz at http://www.zadidiaz.com/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/ChristophWaltz82AAMar10_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-ChristophWaltz82AAMar10_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Christoph Waltz on the red carpet of the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010.](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-2f0233b5d939.jpg) Christoph Waltz on the red carpet of the 82nd Academy Awards on March 7, 2010. — Zadi Diaz at http://www.zadidiaz.com/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/ChristophWaltz82AAMar10_%28cropped%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-ChristophWaltz82AAMar10_%28cropped%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-91350cb0ad45.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-a1488c1cec84.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-c6338dd2a045.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB
- ![Christoph Waltz at Inglourious Basterds Premiere, Leicester Square 23rd July 2009, from Dani Russel +1 (419) 377 9080 - DP/Director Interview Reel, uploaded to ](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-2103fbe00c77.jpg) Christoph Waltz at Inglourious Basterds Premiere, Leicester Square 23rd July 2009, from Dani Russel +1 (419) 377 9080 - DP/Director Interview Reel, uploaded to  — Daniel Russel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Christoph_Waltz_2009.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Christoph Waltz in 2025](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-aa3f5aed04e6.jpg) Christoph Waltz in 2025 — Raph_PH, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Christoph_Waltz_2025.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-90a5ba4b29b1.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-ea2f6add224c.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB
- ![Christoph Waltz](https://film.one/media/person/6558/gallery-0c9b5877392a.jpg) Christoph Waltz — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won

- 2013: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *Django Unchained*
- 2010: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *Inglourious Basterds*

### BAFTA Film Awards — 2 won

- 2013: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (won)
- 2010: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (won)

### Golden Globes — 2 won

- 2013: Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (won)
- 2010: Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (won)

### Cannes Film Festival — 1 won

- 2009: Best Actor (won), for *Inglourious Basterds*

### Other awards — 4 won

- European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award 2015: European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award (won)
- Romy 2010: Romy (won)
- Bavarian TV Awards 1997: Bavarian TV Awards (won), for *Du bist nicht allein - Die Roy Black Story*
- O.E. Hasse Award 1982: O.E. Hasse Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/christoph-waltz