14 DAY TRIAL // It’s hard not to like Christoph Waltz: the man seemingly came out of nowhere with “Inglourious Basterds” in 2009 and he’s been delivering flawless and noteworthy performances. He’s got an Oscar to show for it too.
His next role is bound to make him even more of a fixture on the Hollywood scene than he already is: he will be the villain in the upcoming James Bond movie, “SPECTRE,” which is coming out in December 2015 and is directed by Sam Mendes.
Even if we didn’t live in a world where villains tend to steal the hero’s thunder, playing the bad guy to Daniel Craig’s 007 would have still elevated Waltz’s profile considerably. He knows it, and he tells GQ UK without false modesty that he’s paid his dues and is happy that he’s finally “arrived.”
He also talks about artistic fulfillment from doing a blockbuster movie and how he considers the rebooted James Bond is above “typical” films of the type: it doesn’t have a “hack” director or a “hack” cast, it’s anchored in tradition yet bent on creating real art.
The one thing Waltz doesn’t like about “SPECTRE” is all that talk that he’d be playing one of the most iconic villains in the franchise, Blofeld.
“That is absolutely untrue,” he says. “That rumor started on the Internet, and the Internet is a pest. The name of my character is Franz Oberhauser.”
This isn’t the first time the rumor is denied by someone working on “SPECTRE,” but the reality is that, until the film comes out, no one wants to believe it, especially not after the Sony Hack, when the full script of the film ended up online. It left no room for doubt as to his character’s secret identity.