After years of sustaining in the industry, Christoph Waltz landed his breakthrough role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009), which showered him with popularity and fame for his role as Hans Landa. However, despite achieving great success and even an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Waltz refused to reunite with Tarantino in 2012.
After watching Christoph Waltz perform and given the success of Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino wanted to collaborate with the actor once again in his 2012 movie Django Unchained. But according to WhatCulture, Waltz initially turned down the role of Schultz, until Tarantino fulfilled his one demand.
Christoph Waltz Refused to Appear in Django Unchained
Christoph Waltz and Quentin Tarantino initially collaborated in the 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds, which witnessed great success at the box office. Soon the actor rose to prominence after winning an Oscar for his role as Hans Landa, and Tarantino became an acclaimed filmmaker for his distinct narrative style, dialogue mastery, and generous doses of violence and gore.
Three years later, Quentin Tarantino once again reached out to Christoph Waltz for another collaboration in Django Unchained. However, this time things changed for the duo as the actor surprisingly turned down the role. Despite their previous work and its success, something held Waltz back from joining forces with Tarantino. And that something was the fear of being typecast.
According to reports from WhatCulture, Christoph Waltz reportedly turned down Django Unchained because he felt it was “too tailored” for his persona. He believed that the role would come across as him being himself on screen, so there wasn’t really a challenging element to it. Further, since his filmography is majorly filled with memorable villain roles, Waltz refused to play the presence of evil once again.
Quentin Tarantino Had to Fulfill Christoph Waltz’s Demand
Considering the reasons stated by Christoph Waltz for turning down the role, Quentin Tarantino played his cards. Unwilling to take no for an answer, the filmmaker repeatedly pursued the actor to accept the role of Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained (2012). Realizing that Tarantino was being desperate and adamant, Waltz therefore handed down one condition for accepting the role.
Since Quentin Tarantino wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer, Christoph Waltz decided to agree on the project on one condition. Demanding his character to be pure and never act in a negative or evil manner, Waltz laid down his condition for Tarantino to accept. Only then the actor would agree to sign in, otherwise, he claimed to refuse the role.
Eventually Christoph Waltz’s attempt at avoiding being typecast as the villain in Hollywood worked well since Quentin Tarantino agreed to his condition. The filmmaker responded to his demands with a handwritten letter saying “Of Course, Mein Herr!- Q”, to which Waltz sent a telegram back saying: “Mein Herr, Of Course!- CW”.
Keeping Christoph Waltz’s demand in mind, Quentin Tarantino didn’t put Dr. King Schultz on the side of evil. Instead, Waltz played the role of a dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, who became an important ally to Jamie Foxx’s Django.
Django Unchained is available on Netflix.
