Everyone and their dog seems to have decided that Christoph Waltz is a shoe-in for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as evil Nazi officer Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantinos’ epic “Inglourious Basterds”, perhaps not surprisingly given that he was won a swag of other awards for his performance, including a Golden Globe and the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, but the man himself says he is taking nothing for granted.
In an interview with the BBC, Waltz says “There is no pressure at all” on him for Oscar night, for the simple reason that “Just because everyone is saying it doesn’t mean I actually believe it. You have nothing in the bag until it’s there.” Of the nomination, Waltz notes that “We recently had the nominees’ luncheon in Los Angeles and it was such a lovely event, because there was no sense of competition. None of this silly scheming, no expectations, it was just a lovely lunch and everybody went home happy.”
Waltz also paid tribute to Tarantino’s talent as director and writer, and for his almost ridiculously extensive knowledge of and total love for film, noting that his dedication to his craft is “masterly”. “He does not have to employ awkward machinations or silly tricks,” the actor notes. “He knows what he is doing as he has an encyclopedic knowledge of movies. He’s seen every movie. Not just the famous ones… and you know what? He remembers them all.”
