Best Actor to Christoph Waltz for his role in “Inglourious Basterds”

The award for Best Actor went to Christoph Waltz for his role in Inglourious Basterds.

After receiving the award from Zhang Ziyi, Christoph Waltz expressed his gratitude:
"Madame President of the Jury and dear members, please let me thank you for this altogether extraordinary honor, and this moment, unlike any other, in the life of an actor. I want to thank all those who participated in this extraordinary adventure, in this incredible experience. They carried me through the film, from beginning to end. I couldn’t have done it alone. Of course, I thank the Weinstein Brothers company, Universal, all my friends in Germany, who proved their support to me. Thank you, Brad, for meeting me on eye-level and allowing me to be your partner. But especially and above all, I owe this to Colonel Landa and his unique and inimitable creator Quentin Tarantino. Quentin, I need to answer you: you gave me my vocation back!"

At the Laureate Press Conference, Best Actor and Actress winners faced off with the press one last time:
Christoph Waltz: "The film is an event which bears the mark of Quentin Tarantino. This role is rather like the other major roles that are found in the whole history of the theater… I’ve been doing this for more than thirty years. And in the beginning, it’s great! And then comes the time in between. And it does feel like I’ve started to come out the other end."