‘I Was Incredibly Grateful That the World Spoke Up for Me So I Didn’t Have To’ — Paul Dano Breaks Silence After Quentin Tarantino Insult
There Will Be Blood and The Batman actor Paul Dano has expressed his gratitude for the support he received after Quentin Tarantino insulted him on a podcast.
Tarantino, who became a household name for writing and directing the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, appeared on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast last year to reveal his 20 favorite films of the 21st century. He picked Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down at number one, but his comments around his number five pick, There Will Be Blood, set the internet on fire. Tarantino said There Will Be Blood might have been his top pick if it weren’t for Paul Dano, who he described as the film’s “giant flaw.” Dano was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for playing identical twins Paul and Eli Sunday in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 period drama.
Here’s Tarantino’s quote in full:
“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. There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being number one or number two 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].”
Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote 1991 novel American Psycho, suggested Dano faced an impossible task keeping up with Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar-winning performance. “Daniel Day-Lewis also makes it impossible to make it a two-hander because there are aspects of that performance that are so gargantuan,” he offered.
Tarantino countered: “So you put him with the weakest male actor in SAG? The limpest dick in the world?” Later, he clarified his position, insisting: “I’m not saying he’s giving a terrible performance. I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity performance.” But Tarantino’s feelings on Dano were made clear: “I don’t care for him,” he said. “I don’t care for him, I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
This week, Variety asked Dano about Tarantino’s comments at a 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine at the Sundance Film Festival. “That was really nice,” Dano said of the support he received. “I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to.”
Variety reported that Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris also commented, with Dayton calling Tarantino’s remarks an “embarrassment.” He added: “I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He couldn’t be easily filed.”
After Tarantino’s comments hit the internet, fans moved to defend Dano’s performance in There Will Be Blood, pointing out the context surrounding his role. Dano, who was only 23 years old when he was cast in the film, was originally only set to play the brother Paul, but took over both the twin roles two weeks after filming began when the actor originally cast as Eli, Kel O’Neill, was fired because Paul Thomas Anderson decided he “wasn’t the right fit.”
After There Will Be Blood came out, Dano spoke about the difficulty he faced adding this extra role with very little time to prepare. “On There Will Be Blood I was cast at the last minute,” he said in an interview with Indiewire. “I had 3 1/2 to 4 days to get ready for the first day. That was just guts and instinct, not a lot of preparation.” Dano went on to receive critical acclaim for his roles in 12 Years a Slave and Prisoners, and won plaudits for his portrayal of supervillain Riddler in 2022’s The Batman.
Meanwhile, Matthew Lillard also commented on his experience, having been the subject of Tarantino’s criticism alongside Dano. The Scream and Five Nights at Freddy’s star told Entertainment Weekly that receiving tributes from his peers on social media “was like living through your own wake.”
He continued: “All those R.I.P. emails or tweets and Instagram posts and TikToks, all of the things we see after somebody passes are so sweet. And the reality is I just got to live through all of it firsthand — alive and kicking! I can’t imagine a more lovely reaction to what happened.”
Last month, Lillard admitted “it f***ing sucks” to be on the receiving end of an insult from Tarantino. Lillard reacted to the drive-by insult at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio, in December, and addressed the audience of fans by bringing Tarantino’s insult up.
“Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor,” Lillard said. “Eh, whatever. Who gives a s**t?”
The outspoken Quentin Tarantino has come under fire for insulting a number of actors. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Epic Games.
Lillard went on to reveal that Tarantino’s words had affected him. “The point is, is that, it hurts your feelings. It f***ing sucks. And he wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. He wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood. I’m very popular in this room. I am not very popular in Hollywood. Two totally different microcosms, right? And so, you know, it’s humbling, and it hurts.”
At that point, someone from the crowd shouted out “we love you!” which sparked cheers from the audience.
Tarantino, meanwhile, is coming off the back of a Kill Bill collaboration with Fortnite. He directed and wrote The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge, an anime adaptation of a cut scene from Kill Bill that premiered in the battle royale.
Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
