1. Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
In what no doubt has to be one of the most psychologically chilling performances in film history, Christoph Waltz is utterly brilliant as Hans Landa, the sadistic SS detective from Tarantino's bad-ass Inglorious Basterds. Waltz commands every scene his is in, playing the role of the aptly nick-named "Jew Hunter" with a bluster of assurance that he's got the audience and his enemies right where he wants them. His evil Landa is so devilishly charming that he finds a way to not only disarm the people he is interrogating but also "one up" them into submission. In the opening scene, Landa questions a dairy farmer about the possibility that he may be harboring a Jewish family against Nazi orders in his home. While the farmer subtly pulls his tobacco pipe out of what could be habit or nervousness, Landa coyly produces a larger than life calabash pipe from his coat and begins puffing away as well. What Landa has done in that moment is put the farmer in his place, delicately implying he will always be one step ahead of his prey, and always more vicious in the end. It is as good of a mind screw one could imagine. For his memorable work, Waltz was given the richly deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2010, a first for a Tarantino performance. Waltz has now made a splash in Hollywood, and will next be seen in Tarantino's Django Unchained. Is your favorite performance from a Tarantino movie not on the list? Don't forget to voice your opinion in the comments below and let us know what we might have missed.