Paul Dano was just somewhere minding his own business, probably living his best introverted-actor life, when suddenly… out of nowhere… Quentin Tarantino called him out as “the weakest ******* actor in SAG.” For no real reason, of course. Just Tarantino’s attempt at being funny and, supposedly, brutally honest. But the world didn’t take the comment lightly. Actors, directors, and friends fired back at the Pulp Fiction director, defending Dano as one of the best of all time. And, honestly, can you blame them? This is the same dude who lit up the screen as The Riddler in The Batman and both Eli and Paul Sunday in There Will Be Blood.
Tarantino appeared on the Bret Easton Ellis show last week, rattling off his best movies of the 21st century. He even placed There Will Be Blood at number five. Although he insisted the movie could’ve topped his list if it wasn’t for one giant flaw: Paul Dano. According to Tarantino, the film was supposed to be a “two-hander,” but Daniel Day-Lewis completely overwhelmed him. He called Dano “weak sauce,” “the weak sister,” and then—laughing—“the weakest ******* actor in SAG.”
Ellis pushed back, rightly pointing out, “Daniel Day-Lewis also makes it impossible to make it a two-hander because there are aspects of that performance that are so gargantuan.” Tarantino wasn’t having it. “So, you put him with the weakest male actor in SAG? The limpest **** in the world?”
But Hollywood wasn’t having it. The support for Paul Dano has been loud.
First, Dano’s Batman director, Matt Reeves, fired off a message: “Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.”
Then, Simu Liu chimed in with, “idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor”.
Ben Stiller kept it simple: “Paul Dano is ******* brilliant.”
Then Josh Gad wrote, “Not sure who needs to hear this, but Paul Dano is one of the best actors of our time. Full stop.”
Even Maya Rudolph posted a still of Dano on her Instagram stories. And yes, Alec Baldwin recorded a full video defending the actor.
Dano didn’t ask for any of this commotion. In fact, he hasn’t commented on any of it so far.
What could have been verbal napalm from Tarantino has instead somehow become the biggest career boost Paul Dano never wanted. And he totally deserves it.
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