American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino fired a scathing dig at actor Paul Dano on Tuesday, describing him as “a weak, uninteresting guy”.
The roast arrived on the ‘Bret Easton Ellis Podcast’, where Tarantino discussed his top ten movies of the century with the ‘American Psycho’ author.
Commenting on Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’, which Tarantino placed as his #5 favourite film of the 21st century, the director stated that the movie could have been higher in the chart if only for one major blemish: the presence of Paul Dano.
“‘There Will Be Blood’ would stand a better chance to be number 1 or number 2 if it didn’t have a big giant flaw in it, and the flaw is Paul Dano,” Tarantino blurted out.
“He is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister,” he added.
‘A non-entity performance’
Dano plays twins Eli and Paul Sunday in There Will Be Blood. Paul appears near the start of the film, while Eli becomes a major figure in the story.
Eli works as a preacher and repeatedly clashes with Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The conflict between the two characters explores the relationship between faith, ambition and power.
Tarantino, however, did not consider Dano’s performance strong enough to match Day-Lewis.
“I’m not saying he’s giving a terrible performance. I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity performance,” Tarantino explained.
He argued that the film should work as a two-hander between Day-Lewis and Dano. In his view, Dano failed to create the same impact as his co-star.
“Dano is just a weak, weak, uninteresting guy,” Tarantino continued.
The filmmaker also suggested that Austin Butler could have been a better choice for the role. Butler was only 16 when There Will Be Blood arrived in cinemas in 2007.
Tarantino went further when Ellis asked whether he had ever liked any of Dano’s projects.
“I don’t care for him,” he said.
He then mentioned Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard as other actors whose work he does not particularly enjoy.
Tarantino ultimately described Dano as “the weakest male actor in SAG [the Screen Actors Guild]”.
Tarantino’s favourite film of the century
Despite his criticism of Dano, Tarantino placed There Will Be Blood among his favourite films of the 21st century.
His number-one choice was Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, released in 2001.
Tarantino praised the film’s intensity and Scott’s direction. He said the movie kept him engaged throughout its long runtime.
“It had me and never let me go,” Tarantino said.
He also described Scott’s direction as “beyond extraordinary”.
Tarantino’s comments about Dano have added another chapter to the long-running discussion surrounding There Will Be Blood. The film remains widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed movies of the 2000s, while Day-Lewis and Dano both earned major praise for their performances.
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