Inglourious Basterds

Lieutenant , nicknamed "Aldo the Apache" due to his guerilla tactics and trademark of scalping Germans he defeats, is the battle-hardened commanding officer of the Basterds. Raine is a coal miner and bootlegger from the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, where he fought against the Ku Klux Klan. He survived a lynching and is a descendant of Jim Bridger and the Bridger family. He was a member of the Devil's Brigade where he was trained in guerrilla warfare.

Bridget von Hammersmark, a German film star turned spy for the United Kingdom. Tarantino based Hammersmark on Hungarian actress Ilona Massey. For her portrayal of the character Kruger was inspired by German actress Hildegard Knef.

Sergeant , also known as "The Bear Jew", a brooding member and second in command of the Basterds who executes Germans with his baseball bat. In Tarantino's screenplay Donowitz is likened to Joshua and his bat to the sword of Gideon. Roth channeled actor Tony Curtis for his portrayal per Tarantino's direction. Donny is the father of Tarantino-created film producer Lee Donowitz (Saul Rubinek) who appeared in True Romance. Adam Sandler was originally given the part but had to turn down the role due to scheduling issue with Judd Apatow's Funny People.

Eli Roth

, a 23-year-old French Jewish cinema owner whose family was murdered by Landa's men when she was 20 years old. Shosanna manages to escape due to luck and Landa's decision to not pursue her. Most of The Bride's attributes in Tarantino's Kill Bill come from Tarantino's original development of Shosanna for Inglourious Basterds, on which he started to work before Kill Bill. Originally Shosanna, whom Tarantino described as a Jewish Joan of Arc, was an assassin who had a list of Germans she would cross off as she killed them. However, Tarantino instead switched her character attributes over to The Bride, later redeveloping Shosanna into the version who appears in the film.

Mélanie Laurent

Standartenführer Hans Landa, an eloquent, cultured, multilingual but deeply ruthless Austrian SS officer who becomes an enemy of both Shosanna and the Basterds.

Christoph Waltz

Lieutenant Archie Hicox, a British commando and former film critic who assists the Basterds on their mission in France. Hicox was patterned after actor George Sanders.

Fredrick Zoller, a German army sniper whose story is made into a propaganda film. Tarantino created Zoller as a Nazi version of Audie Murphy.

Daniel Brühl

Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz, a former German army soldier who murdered numerous Gestapo officers and is recruited by the Basterds.

Til Schweiger

Smithson "Little Man" Utivich, a short and slightly built member of the Basterds unit.

B. J. Novak

Corporal Wilhelm Wicki, the Austrian-born, deadpan-humored translator of the Basterds unit.

Gedeon Burkhard

Marcel, Shosanna's lover and the projectionist at the cinema

Jacky Ido