Christoph Waltz explains why he hates Christmas
Few actors have broken into the Hollywood mainstream as quickly – and as effectively – as the Austrian actor Christoph Waltz did in the 2010s. After appearing in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, the actor’s fame skyrocketed and has since enjoyed further collaborations with the likes of Roman Polanski, Sam Mendes, Tim Burton, Wes Anderson and Guillermo del Toro.
Having studied acting since the 1970s, Waltz worked through several dull television roles and was rewarded with the occasional feature film role. Still, nothing would quite compare to the success he found with Tarantino. Peddling TV and minor feature film work in Germany, his role in Inglourious Basterds alongside Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Eli Roth would forever change his life.
Reflecting on his career before his Tarantino collaboration, he told The Guardian, “There was no alternative,” before explaining in jest: “Or, rather, the alternative was a very deep river. And a heavy stone around my neck”.
In contemporary cinema, he is considered a true master, picking up two Academy Awards, one for his role in Inglourious Basterds and the second for his charming character in Django Unchained, receiving the award for the latter 12 months before he would collaborate with yet another filmmaking mastermind in Tim Burton.
Working alongside an ensemble cast that included Amy Adams, Jason Schwartzman and Terence Stamp, Waltz starred as Walter Keane in the crime drama Big Eyes about painter Margaret Keane, whose success in the 1950s was claimed by her husband. Speaking about the 2014 movie, Waltz sat down with the YouTube channel BackstageOL to underline the significance of the film.
“It tells a story that is very relevant today, that we turn everything that is dear to us into a commodity and throw it out into the mercantile realm,” Waltz said of the movie, which tells the story of a husband claiming credit for the artistic work of his wife.
Breaking down his view on the way of the modern world, he adds: “We try to make money with everything, even though it’s something very personal. We don’t guard our privacy. We don’t know where the boundaries are between private and public anymore… the only way we can still feel that we are anybody at all is by trying to get a piece of the cake and become celebrities”.
Released in December 2014, the interview caps off his questioning by asking the actor, “What does Christoph Waltz want for Christmas?” before the screen star quickly shuts the question down. “No Christmas. That’s my biggest wish, no Christmas,” he reveals, explaining, “Because what I was talking about before comes to its unbearable peak over Christmas, and I’m against it. I’m against it even in milder forms, but at Christmas, it turns into mass hysteria”.
So, if you were thinking about getting Christoph Waltz anything for Christmas, either don’t bother or just toss him a lump of coal.
