Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as a German, sleeve-gun toting bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” on Sunday at the Academy Awards.
Waltz, who had already won another Oscar for Nazi Col. Hans Landa in “Inglorious Basterds,” beat out the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman (“The Master”), Alan Arkin (“Argo”), Robert De Niro (“Silver Linings Playbook”), and Tommy Lee Jones (“Lincoln”) in the first acting-related award of the night.
Waltz was lauded for his performance as Dr. King Schultz, a former dentist who turned to bounty hunting. He enlists Django, a black slave played by Jamie Foxx, to track down several criminals.
“I love this movie because it’s a fabulous, exciting piece of entertainment with a really deep message,” Waltz told Bloomberg News backstage after he won. “I’m happy that it’s popular.”
During his acceptance speech, Waltz said: “We participated in a hero’s journey, hero here being Quentin Tarantino. You scaled the mountain because you’re not afraid of it, you slay the dragon, because you’re not afraid of it and you cross through fire because it’s worth it. I borrowed my character’s words. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
