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The Nazis
They may be crazed Aryan supremacists, but in Tarantino's universe, Nazis also have a fondness for fresh milk and movies.
That first atypical bit of characterisation goes to German intelligence officer Hans Landa (aka The Jew Hunter), who's played by Hollywood's find-of-the-year Christoph Waltz.
It's a role that the Austrian considers "the part of the century". "It's on par with the other great parts of dramatic literature," said Waltz.
As for "Inglourious Basterds'" quirky caricatures of Nazis, the 52-year-old pointed out: "Do you actually know how many Nazis you've talked to? Of course not. You may be talking to this, lovely, accommodating businessman who you want to arrange your mortgage with!"
Speaking of loveable Nazis, Daniel Bruhl's character, the reluctant war hero Fredrick Zoller, seems like someone you'd want to talk with about cinema the whole night. And this boy-next-door portrayal is something the 31-year-old Spanish-German star of the film "Good Bye Lenin!" loves.
"He's the first likeable German in the movie! He's pathetic, charming, flirtatious, and interested in cinema. The only problem is he's the top sniper of Nazi Germany, quite accidentally," he quipped.
The Basterds
Compared to their seemingly more-cultured mortal enemies, the Basterds seem downright brutish.
Consider Hugo Stiglitz and Donny Donowitz, played by two actor-directors: German Til Schweiger and Hostel's Eli Roth, respectively. The former likes to slit his enemies' throats while the latter beats them up with a baseball bat.
Roth, 37, who called Basterds "kosher porn" and acted as the "Jewish sounding board for Quentin", admitted it was a "very surreal experience" killing Nazis with a blunt weapon - but one he didn't enjoy too much.
"He was a warrior on behalf of the people who couldn't fight and you have to feel the anger of all the Jews," said Roth. "You have to dredge up your worst memories and feel like it happened an hour ago. It's very painful."
The 45-year-old Schweiger took on the role of the silent-but-deadly Basterd. And while the grim-looking actor pretty much kept his mouth shut during the interviews, Roth revealed how even main Basterd Brad Pitt became a fan during the shoot.
"He just stands there and has presence. During one scene (involving a jail break), Brad goes: 'Act all you want boys. Act your f**kin' heads off - he's just gonna walk away with the scene again!'"
The Ladies
It's her first time working with Tarantino and Diane Kruger feels special. "It's just that he loves strong women characters. And it feels really great to be on a set where you're just as, if not more, cherished than your male co-stars. That doesn't happen often," said the 33-year-old German actress who plays Bridget von Hammersmark, a German film star-turned-British spy.
Kruger reunites onscreen with her "Troy" co-star Pitt. And this time they did some scenes together.
"It was actually nice to see him in a working light because he's such a persona movie star - you hear so much about him. It was nice to see the simplicity of him as an actor just actually being on set," she said.
Like her feisty character, Kruger revealed she's likely to get down and dirty in real life. Last year, she went backpacking across China - from Hong Kong all the way to the Tibetan border - with her girlfriends. "That was a little tough but also incredible. They were like, 'White girl? What are you doing here?'" she laughed.
There's also Basterds' other big find: Melanie Laurent.
The 26-year-old French actress takes on the pivotal role of Shosanna Dreyfus, an orphan who comes to inherit her very own cinematheque. She may not have her own moviehouse in real life, but Laurent also lives behind the camera as a budding film director.
In fact, Laurent was in the midst of shooting a movie when she got a call from Tarantino.
It wasn't any ordinary film, however. It was an art-porn short that was eventually aired on a French channel. "It was a series of five female directors who did their take on porn movies. And I had the classiest orgy - every girl wore Chanel," she laughed.
Inglourious Basterds is in cinemas now.
- TODAY/il
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