Q. Please welcome the winner of tonight’s best supporting actor award Mr Christoph Waltz. Hello sir.
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Hi.
Q. Congratulations. So two for two, how does that feel?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Like four!
Q. Must be a nice and pleasant experience I imagine to have your second Bafta?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: You know it’s asking too much to analyse, I mean for me to analyse that now, I — I still you know I had to wait for about a minute and just take a breath.
Q. Still coming down a little bit?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Yes.
Q. I asked Quentin about the beginning of your relationship and did you feel that this was Casablanca style the beginning of a beautiful friendship because he’s now written these two amazing roles for you.
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Yeah, well yeah, he says it’s the beginning but that was a while ago. This is the continuation of a beautiful friendship.
Q. Are you hoping for a third part maybe?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: You know the trust is reciprocal because I trust if he has a part for me I will play it and if I’m not in his movie he didn’t have a part for me.
Q. Okay. Any questions for Christoph?
PRESS: You looked so emotional in your acceptance speech. Were you really surprised to have got this second —
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Yes.
PRESS: — 100 per cent record here at the Baftas?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: It knocked the wind out of me and you know — yes, I wouldn’t have expected it myself you know but maybe I’m a lot less cool than I like to think.
Q. Anyone else? Yes Michael, thank you.
PRESS: What is the special relationship you have between you and Quentin? Is it a trust —
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: No it really is a trust, it is — it is trust and respect and that’s what I can say that you know goes back and forth but on my part it is this admiration for this master storyteller and I am completely and utterly at ease and convinced that what he writes is something that I can say.
Q. Yes please.
PRESS: Congratulations again. You’ve spoken about your relationship with Quentin — sorry —
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: I’m sorry —
PRESS: You have spoken about your relationship with Quentin. I’d read that in one scene Leonardo DiCaprio cut his hand and I am curious to know your relationship with Leo and Jamie on set and what the tension was like on set during these really intense scenes.
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Yeah I don’t quite know how we put Leo’s hurt hand in that answer but with Jamie — Jamie and I met a long time before we started working and shooting and we met at Quentin’s house and socially and started talking and going out and hanging around and you know after a while Quentin pulled out the script and we read a little bit and — and we developed our easy and normal and unspectacular but increasingly firm friendship and then at one point cameras started turning and I think you can see that, that it was established.
With Leo it was different because he had to finish Great Gatsby and he came later but Leo is a different type, he jumped right in, and it took him about a day and a half and he was part of everybody’s movement and intention and consideration and vice versa and that’s, yeah, he got carried away once, yeah.
Q. The last question here?
PRESS: Is it slightly odd being honoured by Bafta which has happened as soon as you left Britain where you spent years and years and years trying to become a very famous actor?
CHRISTOPH WALTZ: Well, I don’t think that had anything to do with geography to tell you the truth. Yes it’s true I lived here for many many years and then it just — you know life took another turn and then I met Quentin and then life took a lot of other turns.
Q. Fantastic. Huge congratulations. Christoph Waltz. Thank you very much.
Watch Christoph Waltz’s acceptance speech and backstage interview >
