Quentin Tarantino made headlines for making disparaging comments about several actors, with particular attention paid to Paul Dano. The Kill Bill director made an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast (via World of Reel), where he broke down his Top 20 films of the 21st century. At #5 was There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. Tarantino praised the movie, but said the following about The Batman actor:
"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]."
After the comments surfaced, many people in Hollywood rallied to support Dano. Now, Matt Reeves has joined the fray. The Batman director took to social media to express his appreciation for Dano, whom he directed as The Riddler in his 2022 film. The director stated: "Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person."
Reeves is not one to post constantly on social media, which makes his tweet such an important display of support. Prior to Reeves' statement, The Batman Part II screenwriter, Mattson Tomlin, voiced his excitement over seeing people coming out to cheer Dano on following Tarantino's comments:
"I am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he's an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy. Check out WILDLIFE if you haven't [seen it.]"
The support reached far and wide. Frozen actor Josh Gad, for example, stated on Threads: "Not sure who needs to hear this, but Paul Dano is one of the best actors of our time. Full stop." David Krumholtz, who will play Zor-El in 2026's Supergirl, also took to Threads to say the following about Dano: "Let's face it. We are all Paul Dano today."
Simu Liu, who portrays Shang-Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also joined in, stating on X: "idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor."
The news were so far-reaching that even Ben Stiller offered his thoughts on the matter, stating: "Paul Dano is f—ing brilliant."
It is still unclear whether Paul Dano will reprise his role as The Riddler in The Batman Part II. The film is scheduled to release on October 1, 2027.