Daniel Day-Lewis Defends Paul Dano After Quentin Tarantino Calls Him “The Weakest F**king Actor In SAG”
As you know, Quentin Tarantino used The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast to rank his favorite films of the 21st century and in the process, unexpectedly tore into Paul Dano.
Now, his There Will Be Blood co-star Daniel Day-Lewis has stepped in to defend the actor and the support behind Dano is only growing.
Tarantino placed the Paul Thomas Anderson epic at number five on his list and started by celebrating the movie’s craft and Day Lewis’ towering performance. He said:
“Daniel Day Lewis. The old style craftsmanship quality to the film. It had an old Hollywood craftsmanship without trying to be like that.
“It was the only film he's ever done and I brought it up to him that doesn't have a set piece. The fire is the closest to a set piece. This was about dealing with the narrative, dealing with the story, and he did it f*cking amazingly.”
Things shifted when he explained why the film did not rank higher. Tarantino pointed directly at Dano’s performance in the film and fired off a harsh critique.
“There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being number one or number two if it didn't have a big giant flaw in it [...] and the flaw is Paul Dano. Obviously, it's supposed to be a two hander, but it's also drastically obvious that it's not a two hander.
“[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He's just such a weak weak uninteresting guy. The weakest f*cking actor in SAG [laughs].”
It did not take long for people across Hollywood to push back. Simu Liu, Mattson Tomlin, and Matt Reeves were among the first to speak up for Dano. Their reactions were followed by a new and unexpected voice entering the conversation.
Daniel Day-Lewis posted two clips from There Will Be Blood on Instagram that highlight his scenes with Dano and attached a simple statement of support.
“Paul Dano is one of the best and most talented actors of his generation.”
Day Lewis continued on Instagram by sharing several slides from a Paul Dano tribute post created by thefilmpope. The caption from that post read:
“Paul Dano: Ranked. Recently, Quentin Tarantino stated that Paul Dano is ‘The weakest f*cking actor in SAG’... well, Tarantino, you couldn't be more wrong.”
Each slide celebrated a different Dano performance including Prisoners, Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, The Batman, and 12 Years a Slave.
The conversation around Tarantino’s comments is still unfolding but the response has made one thing clear. Paul Dano has a long list of filmmakers and fans who value his work.