Christoph Waltz received the "Best Supporting Actor" award on March 7, 2010, at the 82nd Academy Awards for his role as Colonel Hans Landau in Inglorious Basterds.

The five best supporting actor nominees were:

• Matt Damon for his role as François Pienaar in Invictus
• Woody Harrelson for his role as Captain Tony Stone in The Messenger
• Christoph Waltz for his role as Colonel Hans Landau in Inglorious Basterds
• Christopher Plummer for his role as Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci for his role as George Harvey in The Lovely Bones

Tucci, Plummer and Waltz were all first-time Academy Award nominees. Harrelson was nominated for a "Best Actor" Oscar in 1997 for his role as the title character in The People vs. Larry Flynt. Matt Damon won an Oscar with co-writer Ben Affleck and was nominated for a Best Actor award for the 1998 film Good Will Hunting.

The best supporting actor and actress awards were first given out in 1936. Walter Brennan was the first recipient of the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in Come and Get it. Brennan would go on to receive an award in this category two more times, and remains the record holder for best supporting actor awards with three. Jason Robards is the only actor to receive a best supporting actor Oscar two years in a row: In 1976 for his role in All the President's Men and in 1977 for his role in Julia.

Christoph Waltz accepting the award for Best Supporting Oscar at the 2010 Oscars.