Paul Dano finally responds to Quentin Tarantino’s brutal criticism
Paul Dano has finally responded to the criticism he faced from Quentin Tarantino, who deemed him, among other things, the “weakest fucking actor in SAG.”
Dano unwittingly faced the harsh criticism after Tarantino appeared on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast last year and was asked to reveal a definitive list of his favourite movies of the 21st century.
Tarantino named There Will Be Blood as his fifth favourite movie, but not without clarifying his stance on Dano’s role in the film. He commented: “There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being one or two if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano.”
Tarantino went on, “He is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. [Dano is] just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest fucking actor in SAG [Screen Actors Guild].”
In response, a large proportion of the film community rallied around Dano, such as Ethan Hawke and Batman director Matt Reeves.
Dano was asked about the incident ahead of the 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Before he could respond, his co-star, Toni Collette, jumped in: “Are we really going there?”
Collette added, “Fuck that guy! He must’ve been high… it was just confusing. Who does that?”
In response to the question posed by Variety, Dano shared, “That was really nice. I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to.”
Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris also rallied behind Dano. Dayton deemed Tarantino’s remark an “embarrassment,” before adding: “I can only think that the rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He couldn’t be easily filed.”
Faris weighed in, “You know what was interesting was the people coming out to defend Paul. There was immediately… he is loved by so many. He is so smart.”
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