LORD OF THE DANCE
It’s common knowledge that Orson Welles, during the making of the 1950 action flick The Black Rose, insisted on a mink-fur lining for his character’s coat, despite the fact that it would never appear on celluloid. Rumour also has it that George Clooney, during the filming of Alfonso Cuarón’s out-of-this-world scifi thriller Gravity, insisted on a slice of California being created outside his trailer on the set in Surrey — landscaped garden, basketball court, hot tub, custom-made beach hut and all.
So we were naturally unfazed when a two-time Academy Award-winning actor with a well-documented appreciation of all things oenological asked for a bottle of Pauillac Château Lafite Rothschild 1er Cru 2010 (“or similar”) to be on site for his photoshoot with The Rake. “I thought, like a smart alec, that I was making a sophisticated joke about how the so-called talent can go a little overboard with the perks,” says Christoph Waltz as we embark on the interview some days later. “They’d asked me if I had any special requests — drink or food — and they gave me this fabulous bottle of wine, and I was so embarrassed. Embarrassed but flattered.”
Waltz, 63, is a genuine epicurean. He’d definitely identify with a concept alluded to by the comedy personality David Mitchell in his book Thinking About It Only Makes — the ‘valve decision’, the notion that once you experience better, your newly piqued sensibilities (whether via your palate, your eardrums or your sleep quality on a plane) can’t go back. “I appreciate a good drop, and once you taste the good stuff it’s difficult to drink plonk — as with talking to certain people, or taking certain jobs,” Waltz says. Does that go for the rolled leaf he’s clutching in some of the shots here? “Very much so — but it’s the same thing. I would rather not smoke than smoke some vile herb. I’d rather not drink than drink some crappy plonk. You don’t want to fall into the trap of inflationary indulgence because you lose your appreciation.
