How Paul Dano landed the role of twins in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’
Although Paul Dano consistently stars in critically-acclaimed hits, he remains one of Hollywood’s most underrated actors. His low-profile public persona, paired with a tendency towards playing oddball or creepy characters, has carved him out as somewhat of an underdog. He shines in every role, yet he has only recently begun to receive wider recognition following roles in The Batman and The Fabelmans.
However, Dano’s filmography consists of some impressive credits, such as playing Brian Wilson in the underrated biopic Love and Mercy or his role as a man accused of abducting young girls in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. Nevertheless, Dano gave one of the most impressive performances of his career in 2007, when he was 22, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.
Dano starred in movies such as The Girl Next Door and the Oscar-winning family comedy Little Miss Sunshine as a teenager and young adult. After watching Dano in 2005’s The Ballad of Jack and Rose (featuring There Will Be Blood co-star Daniel Day-Lewis), Anderson cast the actor as Paul Sunday, whom he envisioned as a young adolescent.
The character of Eli Sunday was initially given to Kel O’Neill, who played the part for several weeks of filming until Anderson decided to fire the actor. Although no official reason was shared, O’Neill later stated that he and Anderson didn’t work well together, also citing his lack of interest in acting as a contributing factor. Thus, Anderson, impressed by Dano’s talents, decided to recruit him to play Eli and Paul, rewriting the script to make the brothers identical twins.
Every scene featuring Eli had to be reshot with Dano, yet the laborious process paid off, with the actor giving an incredible performance that led to his first BAFTA nomination. Dano explained to Indie Wire, “I was cast at the last minute. I had three & 1/2 to four days to get ready for the first day. I just went for it, threw myself in there and gave it everything I had. That was just guts and instinct, not a lot of preparation. I was in good hands with Paul and Daniel, I felt I had to cut loose and go for it.”
With limited time to prepare – whereas Day-Lewis had a year- Dano scrambled to research the period in which the film was set and studied evangelical preachers. Magnificently, Dano held his own against Day-Lewis, arguably one of the greatest actors of all time. Dano explained, “I’ve been fortunate to work with several actors and directors who I look up to, and learned from each of them. Being a young person doing this, the most important thing to learn is ‘to each his own.’ You can be overwhelmed with inspiration when you watch a guy like Daniel Day-Lewis work, in a good way, you can learn to harness that and be inspired.”
Dano’s intense performance as Eli and Paul Sunday cemented him as an impressive young star, paving the way for more high-profile roles in the coming years.
