{"id":309097,"date":"2026-01-29T03:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/309097\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T03:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:09:07","slug":"paul-dano-breaks-silence-on-quentin-tarantino-trashing-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/309097\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Dano breaks silence on Quentin Tarantino trashing him"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Paul Dano finally responded to Quentin Tarantino calling him &#8220;the weakest male actor in SAG.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The Little Miss Sunshine star said, &#8220;I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn&#8217;t have to.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Dano received widespread public support after Tarantino criticized his performance in There Will Be Blood on a podcast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/paul-dano\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Dano<\/a> is finally breaking his silence after <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/quentin-tarantino\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Quentin Tarantino<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/quentin-tarantino-trashes-weak-sauce-there-will-be-blood-star-11860944\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">criticized his performance<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/there-will-be-blood\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">There Will Be Blood<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> The Love and Mercy star <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/paul-dano-reacts-quentin-tarantino-diss-worst-actor-1236643708\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spoke<\/a> with Variety at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, ahead of a 20th anniversary screening of <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/little-miss-sunshine\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Little Miss Sunshine<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Dano told the outlet that he was touched by all of the public support he received after Tarantino&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/posts\/144885070?collection=872577\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">comments<\/a> on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast went viral in December.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> &#8220;That was really nice,&#8221; the Ruby Sparks star said. &#8220;I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn&#8217;t have to.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p> Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Toni Collette and Abigail Breslin in &#8216;Little Miss Sunshine&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Lee\/Fox Searchlight<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Dano&#8217;s Little Miss Sunshine costar <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/toni-collette\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toni Collette<\/a> also weighed in on the Tarantino discourse: &#8220;Are we really going there? F&#8212; that guy! He must&#8217;ve been high&#8230; It was just confusing. Who does that?&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_13-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> The film&#8217;s directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, also shared their two cents.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_15-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> &#8220;I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable,&#8221; Dayton opined. &#8220;He couldn&#8217;t be easily filed.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_17-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Faris added, &#8220;You know what was interesting was the people coming out to defend Paul. There was immediately&#8230; He is loved by so many. He is so smart.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p> Paul Dano in &#8216;There Will Be Blood&#8217;.<br \/>\nMelinda Sue Gordon\/Paramount<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_20-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Tarantino made headlines when he shared his scathing opinion of Dano&#8217;s performance as twins Eli Sunday and Paul Sunday in There Will Be Blood, which the filmmaker ranked as his fifth-favorite film of the 21st century.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_22-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> &#8220;There Will Be Blood would stand a better chance to be in number 1 or number 2 if it didn&#8217;t have a big giant flaw in it, and the flaw is Paul Dano,&#8221; the Kill Bill director said, adding that he doesn&#8217;t think the actor could match Daniel Day-Lewis&#8217; Oscar-winning performance. &#8220;Obviously, it&#8217;s supposed to be a two-hander, and it&#8217;s also so drastically obvious that it&#8217;s not a two-hander.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_26-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Tarantino also called Dano &#8220;weak sauce&#8221; and &#8220;a weak sister&#8221; before claiming that &#8220;Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role&#8221; despite the Elvis star being just 16 when the film was released.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_28-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> &#8220;[Dano] just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy,&#8221; Tarantino said, adding that he thinks Dano is &#8220;the weakest male actor in SAG&#8221; and &#8220;the limpest dick in the world.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Dano wasn&#8217;t the only performer that Tarantino targeted in the podcast.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> &#8220;I don&#8217;t care for <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/owen-wilson\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Owen Wilson<\/a>, and I don&#8217;t care for <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/matthew-lillard\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew Lillard<\/a>,&#8221; he said later in the show.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Numerous collaborators and admirers came to Dano&#8217;s defense, including The Batman filmmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mattreevesLA\/status\/1996724799624913342\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow\">Matt Reeves<\/a>, Escape at Dannemora director <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BenStiller\/status\/1996699710045016501?s=20\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow\">Ben Stiller<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DR0xQGqjt3a\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alec Baldwin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SimuLiu\/status\/1996503779634766092\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"4\" rel=\"nofollow\">Simu Liu<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@joshgad\/post\/DR0VEJkklTH\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Gad<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> <strong>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Lillard also received widespread well-wishes after Tarantino&#8217;s comments circulated and reflected on the controversy in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/matthew-lillard-hollywood-support-quentin-tarantino-living-through-own-wake-exclusive-11893508\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">interview with Entertainment Weekly<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_40-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> \u201cIt was like living through your own wake,\u201d the Scream star said of his colleagues&#8217; public and private responses. \u201cAll 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 \u2014 alive and kicking! I can&#8217;t imagine a more lovely reaction to what happened.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Lillard added, &#8220;Nobody has to like me. Nobody has to like any actor out there, obviously. It&#8217;s personal preference. I am not everyone&#8217;s first choice, that is obvious, but to then have that kind of reaction was beautiful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Dano finally responded to Quentin Tarantino calling him &#8220;the weakest male actor in SAG.&#8221; The Little Miss&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[434,18,117,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-309097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115976193110665557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}