Christoph Waltz

5th May 2020

We’re joined by the great Christoph Waltz! We’ll talk about his breakout role in Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino’s bonkers World War II action thriller. At the time, Waltz was a relative newcomer to American films. His role as Colonel Hans Landa earned him not only his first ever Academy Award nomination, but also his first Academy Award. Almost overnight, he became an American movie star: The Green Hornet, Django Unchained, the most recent James Bond movies. His latest project is Most Dangerous Game on the mobile streaming platform Quibi. It’s a retelling of the classic short story by Richard Connell. We chat about that, dive into his Opera career, how he stumbled into acting, and so much more!

Episode notes

(Photo: AFP via Getty Images / Niklas Halle’n)

Christoph Waltz on his latest project Quibi’s Most Dangerous Game
Christoph Waltz had his breakout role in Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino’s bonkers World War II action thriller. He played SS Colonel Hans Landa. The character was a diabolical and bizarrely charming villain.

At the time, Waltz was a relative newcomer to American films. His role as Colonel Hans Landa earned him not only his first ever Academy Award nomination, but also his first Academy Award. Almost overnight, he became an American movie star. You’ve seen him in films like The Green Hornet and Django Unchained. In Spectre and recent installments of the James Bond franchise he portrayed nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He’ll reprise his role in the near future with No Time to Die.

His latest project is Most Dangerous Game on the mobile streaming platform Quibi. It’s a retelling of the classic short story by Richard Connell. In this modern retelling a terminally ill man named Dodge agrees to be hunted for sport in exchange for millions of dollars. Dodge is portrayed by Liam Hemsworth. He learns about the game from Miles Sellers, the CEO of a company called Tiro Fund. Waltz’s portrayal of Miles is mysterious and chilling.

We’ll chat with Waltz about the new series. Plus, we’ll dive into his time working with Quentin Tarantino, what it was like to audition for the role of Colonel Hans Landa, how he stumbled on acting and so much more.

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Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

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