Christoph Waltz has only worked with Quentin Tarantino twice, but he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor both times and his performances were memorable enough that he ranks alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Tim Roth among the writer-director’s most beloved frequent collaborators. Fans are hoping he’ll appear in Tarantino’s tenth and what promises to be his final film.
The role of Dr. Schultz, the title character’s ex-dentist mentor in Django Unchained, introduced audiences to a warm, lovable side of Waltz after his sinister turn as S.S. Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. But arguably the latter performance is the most memorable of the two.
Dr. Schultz: A Dentist-Turned-Bounty Hunter Is A Wholly Unique Western Hero
Quentin Tarantino set out to make a very different kind of spaghetti western with Django Unchained. Due to its antebellum setting, Tarantino has said that it’s more of a “Southern” than a traditional western.
Just as Django himself is a unique spaghetti western hero as a gun-toting ex-slave, Dr. Schultz’s dentist-turned-bounty hunter characterization is nothing like any previous western hero.
Col. Landa: He Steals Every Scene He’s In
There are a bunch of unforgettable characters in Inglourious Basterds, as with any Tarantino movie, from the grizzled hero Lt. Aldo Raine to the undercover movie star Bridget von Hammersmark to the baseball bat-wielding Sgt. Donny “the Bear Jew” Donowitz.
But hands down, the character who leaves the biggest impression is Col. Landa. He steals every scene he’s in, no matter who else is on-screen. Christoph Waltz brings an electrifying presence to the role.
Dr. Schultz: He’s A Classic Mentor To Django
From the moment he pledges to train Django in the art of bounty hunting, Dr. Schultz is a classic mentor figure in the mold of Ben Kenobi, guiding Django on his quest to save his wife.
Dr. Schultz’s role as a traditional mentor even has the familiar trope of dying to motivate his plucky young student to complete his hero’s journey.
Col. Landa: He’s One Of Tarantino’s Most Hateable Antagonists (Second Only To Calvin Candie)
From Bill to Stuntman Mike to Drexl Spivey, Tarantino has created a bunch of villains that audiences love to hate and root for the heroes to defeat. But Col. Landa is by far one of the director’s most hateable characters.
The only Tarantino villain who’s more hateable than Landa is Calvin Candie, the reprehensible plantation owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained.
Dr. Schultz: Waltz Was A Hilarious Comic Foil For Jamie Foxx
In addition to bringing plenty of dramatic nuance to the role of Django, Jamie Foxx brought the pitch-perfect comic timing and hysterical line deliveries from his standup.
Throughout the movie, Christoph Waltz makes a hilarious comic foil for Foxx as the eccentric Dr. Schultz is contrasted with the more down-to-earth Django.
Col. Landa: He Doesn’t See Himself As A Bad Guy
It’s pretty clear that Col. Landa is the villain of Inglourious Basterds, but like all the most complex and interesting villains, he doesn’t see it that way. The way Landa sees it, he’s been given a job to do and he prides himself on doing that job well.
Landa considers himself to be a great detective and even smokes a big Sherlock Holmes-style pipe to prove it. His unscrupulous work for the S.S. has earned him the nickname “the Jew Hunter,” which he considers a compliment.
Dr. Schultz: He’s The One Who Unchains Django
At the beginning of Django Unchained, it’s made very clear that in a country filled with slave-owning bigots, Dr. Schultz is staunchly anti-slavery. When he initially offers to buy Django, he ends up killing the slavers leading his chain gang, and freeing all the others.
Dr. Schultz is one of the most crucial characters in Django Unchained — perhaps second only to Django himself — because he’s the one who unchains Django in the opening scene.
Col. Landa: He Gets Brutal Comeuppance In The Final Scene
Toward the end of Inglourious Basterds, it seems as though Landa is going to get away with his war crimes and emerge as the hero of World War II. After catching on to the Basterds’ plan to assassinate Hitler, Landa allows it to go ahead and alters history to make himself look like the mastermind behind the plot that brought down the Third Reich.
But Lt. Aldo Raine has one last trick up his sleeve. He kills Landa’s backup and carves a swastika into the colonel's forehead so he can never escape his sordid past. Aldo tells Private Utivich, “You know something, Utivich? I think this just might be my masterpiece.”
Dr. Schultz: The Role Offered An Interesting Counterpoint To Col. Landa
Christoph Waltz became an international star overnight after making waves with his sinister portrayal of Col. Landa in Inglourious Basterds. It would’ve been easy for the actor to be typecast as heinous bad guys after playing Landa.
But Tarantino ensured that the world would see the full range of Waltz’s acting by giving him another role that was the complete tonal opposite of Landa. Whereas Landa is terrifying, Dr. Schultz is delightfully quirky.
Col. Landa: He’s One Of The Most Chilling Villains Ever Put On Film
Col. Landa ranks alongside such iconic characters as Darth Vader, Norman Bates, and the Wicked Witch of the West as one of the greatest and most memorable villains in movie history.
Like all the best movie villains, Landa brings a menacing presence whenever he’s on-screen. When he makes an unexpected appearance at the dinner table next to Shoshanna, Charles Bernstein’s “Bath Attack” from The Entity creates a suitable sense of terror.