Two-time Academy Award-winning Austrian-German actor Christoph Waltz has been in the business since the late ’70s, with over 100 titles to his name. However, he really caught the attention of American audiences with his work with director Quentin Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds in 2009 and Django Unchained. Since then, Waltz has worked with other notable directors like Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro, and he’s become known for playing villainous roles, including as James Bond nemesis Blofeld in Spectre and No Time to Die.

Waltz has earned a reputation as a chameleonic, wickedly playful, and reliable performer. Many of his films have received critical acclaim, including high rankings on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. From intense dramas to spy thrillers and even animated efforts, Waltz’s best-reviewed movies on Rotten Tomatoes showcase his versatility.

10 ‘Georgetown’ (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

Based on The New York Times Magazine article “The Worst Marriage in Georgetown,” Georgetown is a fictionalized version of the murder of a 91-year-old socialite, played by Vanessa Redgrave. The culprit was her significantly younger husband, Ulrich Mott, in Washington D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood.

Georgetown sees Waltz playing the suspicious husband with equal parts charm and charisma yet cruelty and menace, spinning numerous lies almost no one can—or should—believe and donning an eyepatch he may or may not need. Georgetown also marks Waltz’s feature directorial debut, and he is as comfortable behind the camera as he is in front of it.

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9 ‘Carnage’ (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

When two boys’ typical playing turns violent, their parents meet to talk things out, but things quickly devolve, and the adults’ behavior becomes more immature, childish, and even cruel—with some help from alcohol. Carnage co-stars Oscar winners Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet and Oscar nominee John C. Riley. It was directed by Roman Polanski and based on the Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza.

Waltz shows his skill at comedic timing as Alan, the father of one of the boys and a distracted lawyer who’s often ducking out to take phone calls and is attached to his Blackberry. Carnage features one of Waltz’ more subdued performances, especially compared to the wild threatrics of Foster and Winslet. However, he still makes Alan obnoxious and unlikable enough to stand out amidst such an excellent cast.

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8 ‘Big Eyes’ (2014)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%

Directed by Tim Burton, Big Eyes is based on the true story of painter Margaret Keane, played by Amy Adams, whose husband, Walter, passed off her distinctive paintings featuring wide-eyed girls as his own. Walter became one of the most successful artists of the ’50s and ’60s, but when Margaret got tired of not getting the recognition she deserved, the couple divorced and entered into a tumultuous dispute in court.

Waltz plays the manipulative Walter, encompassing a range of emotions throughout the film. He wins over Margaret with his charm, builds a lucrative art career with his charisma, and explodes with rage as the two battle it out in court. Big Eyes features Waltz in an antagonistic yet comedic role, and the actor sinks his teeth into it, delivering a playful but reprehensible performance that ranks among his best.

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7 ‘The French Dispatch’ (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

Described as “a love letter to journalists,” Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is among the best anthology films. The narrative is told through a collection of stories published by the American outpost of a New Yorker-esque newspaper in a fictional French city as its staff gathers to write the obituary for their editor.

Like all of Anderson’s films, The French Dispatch features a large ensemble cast full of recognizable names, some of which appear frequently in his work. Waltz appears only briefly as Paul Duval in a scene from the “Revisions to a Manifesto” storyline. Although he only has a few lines, Waltz leaves his mark on The French Dispatch, a celebration of Anderson’s best-known tropes.

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6 ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ (2014)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Following the events of 2011’s The Muppets, in Muppets Most Wanted, the group decides to embark on a European tour. Chaos ensues when Kermit the Frog’s doppelganger Constantine escapes from a Siberian gulag and takes Kermit’s place, sending the beloved green frog to take his place in the icy prison.

Initially, Waltz was slated to star as the Interpol inspector but had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced with Ty Burrell. Instead, Waltz appears in a cameo as himself, guest-starring in an episode of The Muppet Show which opens with him dancing, appropriately, a waltz. Waltz’s intervention in Muppets Most Wanted is all-too-short, but there’s a certain playful delight in seeing him dancing with a large muppet – even if seeing him as the inspector would’ve been great.

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5 ‘No Time to Die’ (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

Waltz returned as iconic Bond villain Blofeld for Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film—and the 25th in the franchise—No Time to Die. The follow-up to Spectre, No Time to Die has a complex plot that sees James Bond called out of a relaxing retirement in Jamaica to help remove MI6 scientist Obruchev from Spectre, who is also in possession of a dangerous bioweapon.

While Blofeld isn’t the main villain in the film, No Time to Die finds the cunning mastermind running SPECTRE from a prison cell thanks to an advanced bionic eye, and he and Bond ultimately reunite. Waltz is a scene-stealer in No Time to Die, to the point where his one scene is more memorable and effective than the film’s actual villain. It’s a shame he wasn’t the film’s main bad guy, as his close relationship with Bond might’ve done for an even more compelling ending.

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4 ‘Django Unchained’ (2012)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

In the revisionist Spaghetti Western Django Unchained, German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz promises to free slave Django, played by Jamie Foxx, if he succeeds in helping him track down the homicidal Brittle brothers. The two then set out to find Django’s long-lost wife and rescue her from the dangerous and brutal francophile Calvin Candie, played by a dastardly Leonardo DiCaprio.

Waltz plays the bounty hunter Schultz, a hero in the midst of Waltz’s frequent bad-guy roles—one that sees Waltz channeling some of the qualities of those villains for an entirely different purpose here. Tarantino wrote the role specifically for Waltz, and it earned the actor his second Oscar. Waltz’s performance is electrifying and lively, bringing a distinctive flair to Django Unchained and cementing it among the 21st century’s best revisionist Westerns.

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3 ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)

Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 89%

Set during World War II, Inglourious Basterds follows a group of American soldiers—the titular “Basterds”—whose goal is to take out Hitler’s Third Reich. In his breakout role and first film with Tarantino, Waltz plays psychopath SS colonel Hands Landa, whose nickname, “The Jew Hunter,” says just about all there is to know about the character.

Tarantino was afraid Landa was “unplayable” until he discovered Waltz. Indeed, Waltz commands the audience’s attention from Inglourious Basterds’ very first scene, proving his brilliance as an actor. Landa is charismatic at first—his demeanor, paired with some of the horrible things he says, is unsettling—then shows the depths of his cruelty, setting the stage for the rest of the film. The performance earned Waltz his first Oscar and cemented Landa as one of the best movie villains of all time.

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2 ‘QT8: The First Eight’ (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

QT8: The First Eight is a documentary following Tarantino’s career. It focuses specifically, as the title suggests, on his first eight films released over 21 years, starting with his 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs and ending with The Hateful Eight. The film features interviews with some of Tarantino’s most frequent collaborators, as well as film clips and animated reenactments.

Although Waltz has really only worked with Tarantino twice (so far), both were scene-stealing, award-winning roles, as well as some of Tarantino’s most memorable characters. Waltz offers insight into what makes Tarantino such a talented filmmaker, allowing viewers an insight into the celebrated writer and director’s process.

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1 ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, the Oscar-winning auteur uses stop-motion animation and original songs to put his dark, more adult spin on the classic story. Based on the novel of the same name by Carlo Collodi, the film follows a wooden toy brought to life by his maker, who is grieving the death of his son.

Waltz voices ringmaster Count Volpe, a greedy combination of villains from the novel who manipulates and exploits Pinocchio in order to draw audiences to his traveling circus. Where Watlz’s villains are often sinister, his voice work makes Volpe delightfully over-the-top and even a little playful. The actor’s performance perfectly complements the film’s dark themes, resulting in a mature and thought-provoking examination of what it means to be alive.

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