20 Actors Who Had To Wait DECADES Before Hitting Big

20. Christoph Waltz

Let's kick this list off with one of the all-time examples of an actor finding global fame later in life.

Christoph Waltz came to global prominence courtesy of his ultimately Oscar-winning role as Austrian SS officer Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

The film released in 2009, when Waltz was 53 years of age, and prior to this he was a total unknown to international audiences outside of his native Austria.

And yet, prior to this Waltz worked in German television and theatre for more than 30 years, his first screen credit being in 1976.

But Waltz certainly made the most of his later career break, soon enough earning a second Oscar in his next collaboration with Tarantino, Django Unchained, and later starring as a new iteration of Blofeld in the James Bond franchise.

Considering the specificity of the Hans Landa role, requiring a challenging command of several languages, it ultimately felt like everything happened precisely as it needed to for Waltz.