In German-occupied France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds," Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own...


The Allies
The Basterds

* Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine aka "Aldo the Apache": An illiterate hillbilly from the mountains of Tennessee, who puts together a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers. He bears a rope burn on his neck, which will never be mentioned in the film (the script hints that he might have survived a lynching). One of the film´s main protagonists: the character has been described as "a voluble, freewheeling outlaw" similar to Jules Winnfield from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. His first appearance in the film is a subtle homage to George Carlin's The Indian Sergeant routine.

* Eli Roth as Sgt. Donnie Donowitz: "A baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter" who is known as "The Bear Jew" among Nazis.[27] Some of them seem to believe that Donowitz is in fact, a vengeful golem. It is rumored that the role was originally conceived for Adam Sandler, who was in talks with Tarantino before declining due to schedule conflicts with the film Funny People.


* B. J. Novak as PFC Utivich aka "The Little One"

* Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz: A German-born psychopath recruited by Aldo Raine to kill Nazis.

* Samm Levine as PFC Hirschberg
* Omar Doom as PFC Ulmer
* Michael Bacall as Zimmerman, a nod to Bob Dylan.
* Gedeon Burkhard as CPL. Wilhelm Wicki: An Austrian Jew.
* Paul Rust as an unnamed bastard

The British

* Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox: A "snappy and handsome British Lieutenant" and movie buff. He is described in the script as a "young George Sanders type". One of the film´s main protagonists, albeit introduced later in the movie.

* Mike Myers as Gen. Ed Fenech: A British "military mastermind" who provides a plot to kill Nazi leadership.

* Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill: The then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Jews (Occupied French)

* Mélanie Laurent as Shoshanna Dreyfus: A young Jewish girl on the run. One of the film´s main protoganists.
* Léa Seydoux as Young Shoshanna
* Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Himmelstein


The Axis Powers
The Nazis

* Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa: A charming yet sinister pipe-smoking Nazi officer nicknamed "The Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews hiding throughout France. The primary antagonist of the film.

* Daniel Brühl as Frederick Zoller: A young German war hero starring in Joseph Goebbels newest Propaganda Film (entitled "Stolz der Nation") which is actually directed by Eli Roth.


* August Diehl as Major Deiter Hellstrom
* Sönke Möhring as Private Butz
* Richard Sammel as Sgt. Werner Rachtman
* Sylvester Groth as Joseph Goebbels
* Martin Wuttke as Adolf Hitler


Other Roles

* Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator
* Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark: A popular film star in Nazi Germany and a spy for the Allies.
* Julie Dreyfus as Francesca Mondino: Joseph Goebbel's mistress, French interpreter and favourite actress to appear in his films.
* Maggie Cheung as Madame Mimeux: A beautiful French woman who owns a cinema in Paris.
* Ludger Pistor as Wolfgang, a role Tarantino added specifically for him.
* Christian Berkel as Eric: The Barkeeper
* Jacky Ido as Marcel: Shosanna´s beloved and a projectionist at Mimeux´s cinema
* Denis Menochet as Perrier LaPadite