Paul Dano has had an impressive career, having made a name for himself as a prestige performer by appearing or starring in critically acclaimed projects such as There Will Be Blood, 12 Years a Slave, Prisoners and Swiss Army Man. In the comic book space, he starred as Edward Nashton, a.k.a. The Riddler, in Matt Reeves' The Batman. Due to that trajectory, the actor is a respected figure in the industry.
Unfortunately, there's one major Hollywood player who doesn't seem to be a fan of him: Quentin Tarantino. The Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time In Hollwyood director made an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast to talk about his top 20 films of the 21st Century (transcribed by World of Reel). Tarantino offered his thoughts on every project on the list, which included Black Hawk Down (his #1), Toy Story 3, Lost in Translation, Dunkirk and There Will Be Blood.
The latter—directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starting Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano—initially received quite a lot of praise from the director, who said: "Daniel Day-Lewis. The old-style craftsmanship quality to the film. It had an old Hollywood craftsmanship without trying to be like that. It was the only film he's ever done, and I brought it up to him, that doesn't have a set piece. The fire is the closest to a set piece. This was about dealing with the narrative, dealing with the story, and he did it f—ing amazingly."
Everything sounds good so far, right? Well, Tarantino continued. He stated that, though the Paul Thomas Anderson movie had a "good chance" at being #1 on his list, it was dragged down by whom he called a "giant flaw": Paul Dano. The director openly bashed the actor, calling him a "weak sauce," a "weak sister," and stating that Austin Butler (whom Tarantino worked with on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) would have delivered a better performance than him:
"There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being #1 or #2 if it didn't have a big, giant flaw in it [...] and the flaw is Paul Dano. Obviously, it's supposed to be a two-hander, but it's also drastically obvious that it's not a two-hander. [Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He's just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest f—ing actor in SAG [laughs]."
Yikes.
Tarantino's comments are quite surprising. As mentioned, Dano is arguably one of the most prestigious actors working today, and his performance in There Will Be Blood was one of the building blocks for his reputation.
It's rare for any creative to call out another artist as openly as the Kill Bill director just did. Granted, Tarantino has always been an outspoken figure in Hollwyood. For example, in 2022, speaking on Tom Segura's 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, he "called out" Marvel actors, stating:
"Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is... you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they're not movie stars. Captain America is the star. Thor is the star. I mean, I'm not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times, but it's these franchise characters that become a star."
The director also had a playful feud with George Clooney in 2024. Having said that, the way he spoke about Dano was just harsh, even for his signature openness.
The Batman Part II will glide into theaters on October 1, 2027.
What did you think about Tarantino's comments regarding Paul Dano? What is your favorite performance from the actor?