Waltz studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. In the late 1970s, Waltz spent some time in New York City where he studied method acting with Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler. He started as a stage actor, performing at venues such as Zurich's Schauspielhaus Zürich, Vienna's Burgtheater, and the Salzburg Festival.
He became a prolific television actor in the years 1980 to 2000. In 2000, he made his directorial debut, with the German television production Wenn man such tract. Before gaining an attention of a larger audience in Tarantino's Inglorious Busters he had played Dr. Hans-Joachim Dorfmann in the British TV series The Gravy Train in 1990.
Waltz has the German and Austrian nationality and belongs the white ethnicity group. He has reached the age of 60 in 2016. Waltz has three children with his former wife. He is raising a daughter with his second wife, costume designer Judith Holste. They travel frequently to Berlin, London, and Los Angeles. The and the major part of his earnings comes from his acting career and in recent days Waltz has an estimated net worth of around U.S $ 10 million.