How did Christoph Waltz become so successful?

The guy just has this incredible presence and can build maximum tension with minimal movement - that's not something you're born with, it's pure craftsmanship. He did theater for years before he made it big, and you can tell: when the man speaks, you listen, even if he's just sitting in a chair. Then Tarantino came along and needed exactly that - an actor who can play villains so intelligently and fascinatingly that you almost like them. Since then he's obviously everywhere and gets the good roles, but the foundation was really this technical skill.

To be honest, I'm not that familiar with his early career years, but from what I can tell, he just took his time and worked on his roles instead of trying to become famous quickly. The breakthrough came with Tarantino films, where he played really charismatic villains that made him known worldwide. It was probably the combination of solid craftsmanship over the years and then getting exactly the right roles at exactly the right time.