Christoph Waltz was not the first choice of Quentin Tarantino for the Inglorious Bastards 

Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards gave Christoph Waltz the big break in his career as the Austrian actor got his breakthrough role that landed him an Oscar win and a Cannes award for Best Actor. Starring in the film as Hans Landa, Waltz's performance was highly praised by the audience as he garnered attention and accolades. However, a later revelation reveals that Waltz came really close to losing the role of Hans Landa to another actor, who was Tarantino's first choice to play the Nazi character.

According to Wikipedia, Leonardo DiCaprio was the director's first choice for the role, whom he based the role on before changing his mind. Tarantino considered the role to be unplayable and was close to scrapping the whole project. In time, Waltz auditioned for the role, fitting it perfectly as he played a character that is widely considered to be one of the greatest villains of all time. Tarantino's decision also stemmed from his desire to cast an actor of German origins to give the character a touch of authenticity.

Speaking to The Moment podcast in 2021, Tarantino has said,

"I really had considered that I wrote a character that was unplayable. And so to actually see somebody ride that horse, and do it perfectly, I mean absolutely perfectly, I was gob smacked."

In another interview with Variety in 2009, the director stated,

“I told my producers I might have written a part that was un-playable. I said, I don’t want to make this movie if I can’t find the perfect Landa, I’d rather just publish the script than make a movie where this character would be less than he was on the page. When Christoph came in and read the next day, he gave me my movie back.”

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What is Inglorious Bastards about?

The film revolves around a French farmer, Perrier LaPadite, who is questioned by SS officer Hans Landa in 1941 regarding the Jewish Dreyfus family. Also known as the Jew Hunter, Landa coerces LaPadite into disclosing their hiding spot, resulting in the family's death.

Three years later, U.S. Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the "Bastards," who use violent tactics to terrorize Nazis. The film is violent and, at times, difficult to watch as it portrays the horrors of Hitler's reign and the consequences that followed.

Released in 2009, it became one of the most successful films of the year, accumulating $321.4 million against a production budget of $70 million. It became a highlight in Tarantino's career and his most successful venture back then.

Christoph Waltz received his first Cannes honors as he took home the Best Actor Award while the film received eight Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Waltz, and Best Original Screenplay. Out of all the eight honors, Waltz won, marking his first big accolade in Hollywood as his character continues to be one of his most praised works as a villain who is so well-cast in the role that you can't help but hate him.

Inglorious Bastards is available to stream on Prime Video.