The Django Unchained star, his costume designer wife Judith Holste and their 10-year-old child have been splitting their time between the two countries since he found Hollywood fame in Inglourious Basterds in 2009.

They are now in the process of moving to California to live full-time, and Christoph admits he struggles to shake off his frugal ways from the years he spent as a penniless actor.

In an interview with Britain's Guardian Weekend magazine, Judith tells her husband, "You can throw out that toaster. You have two Oscars, for God's sake," but Christoph replies, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Try as you might, you can never break free from your past", he adds.

Christoph credits director Quentin Tarantino with turning his life around by casting him in the 2009 war drama, saying, "I don't owe Tarantino my craft, but I do owe him my place...

"I've done so many jobs because I've had to, not because I've wanted to. And it's honourable to do a job because you need to feed your children, and maybe there is something in it for your development as an actor. But only up to a point. Frustration can get the better of anyone. And I dread to imagine what would have happened to me had it not been for Quentin."

Christoph, 59, has three children from his first marriage.

He won both his Oscars for Tarantino films, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.