Austria's Waltz takes Cannes best actor prize as polyglot Nazi

May 24, 2009

Austrian soap star Christoph Waltz clinched the best actor award in Cannes Sunday for his role as a multilingual Nazi in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Waltz plays the smooth-talking villain of the flick, SS colonel Hans Landa, whose memorable one-liners had the Cannes audience chortling throughout the film. Critics widely agreed that the 52-year-old -- who spent most of his career in television acting -- outshone a star cast that included Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger or rising Irish star Michael Fassbender.