Christoph Waltz’s performance as Colonel Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009) is considered one of the greatest villain portrayals in modern cinema as far as alternate history and the world war two is concerned.
The drill about the language aspect:
• Hans Landa speaks four languages in the film: German, French, English, and Italian.
• Waltz was already fluent in German, English, and French before filming.
• But for the Italian scenes (where Landa mocks the Basterds’ disguises), he learned just enough to deliver his lines convincingly.
• Tarantino attested that it felt like Waltz was a “gift from God” because the role required one actor who could deliver flawlessly in multiple languages.
• Before Waltz auditioned, Tarantino admitted that he feared the film might collapse because no one else could pull it off.
• This multilingual performance earned Waltz’s the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and the Cannes Best Actor which he actually won even before the film hit global release.
• For Waltz, the role was career-changing as he was predominantly known as a TV actor in Europe before he starred in Inglourious Basterds.