I worried my nationality would hurt career: Christoph Waltz

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : May 17 2013 | 1:15 PM IST
Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz almost gave up on his Hollywood dream when he was told he was likely to be cast as a Nazi for the rest of his life because of his Austrian and German heritage.
The 56-year-old 'Django Unchained' star almost quit acting when he was told he was unlikely to break Hollywood and would probably be cast in supporting roles because of his thick Austrian accent, reported Contactmusic.
"I was introduced to Paul Kohner years ago, who was the most powerful agent in the 30s. He was at the end of his career and I was at the beginning of my career - he actually knew my grandfather. He said, 'Of course I can do something for you in Hollywood, that's not the problem.
"But you have to ask yourself, do you want to spend the rest of your life walking through the background yelling 'Hail Hitler'?' And that was probably the most valuable thing he said to me. I said, 'No, thank you', and went back to Europe," he said.
Waltz is ironically best known for his role as Nazi Colonel Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds', for which he won his first Oscar.
He teamed up with Tarantino for the second time for western 'Django Unchained' last year, scoring his second Oscar win.
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First Published: May 17 2013 | 1:15 PM IST

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