 When Waltz auditioned for the role, he had no prior correspondence with Tarantino or producer Lawrence Bender, and believed that the character of Hans Landa was being used during the audition process to cast other roles.Waltz stated that he was most impressed with the dialogue and the depth of the character.Waltz has described Landa's character as one who has an understanding of how the world works, stating that the swastika means nothing to him.