Paul Dano Reacts to Quentin Tarantino's Rant About Him, Saying He's "Incredibly Grateful the World Spoke Up for Me So I Didn't Have To"

A couple of months ago, director Quentin Tarantino, known best for his violent and dialogue driven films, went on a rant about a few actors in Hollywood that he apparently just can’t stand. They were Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard.

He really dug in hard on his dislike of Dano, particularly his performance in There Will Be Blood, stating that he was “The weakest f*king actor in SAG.”

That’s so hardcore! And it’s so baffling to most movie fans who have watched Dano’s performances over the years. I think he’s a great actor, and I really did not understand this attack on his acting ability.

Since Tarantino’s tirade, many actors have responded publicly, going to bat for Paul Dano and his acting skills, and it sounds like he has a lot more Hollywood support on his side than Tarantino does.

Now, Paul Dano himself has responded to the verbal vitriol. While appearing at a celebration ahead of the 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Dano was asked about Tarantino’s comment but was beat to the punch by co-star Toni Collette, who said:

“Are we really going there? F*ck that guy! He must’ve been high… it was just confusing. Who does that?”

Dano never commented publicly on Tarantino’s diss and said all of the tributes to his work that poured in across social media spoke for themselves.

“That was really nice,” Dano told Variety. “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 weighed in the Tarantino controversy. Dayton called Tarantino’s remarks an “embarrassment,” adding: “I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He couldn’t be easily filed.”

Faris noted, “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.”

George Clooney spoke out in defense of not only Dano, but also Wilson and Lillard, stating that he would be honored to work with any one of them, and he actually did work with Lillard in the great movie The Descendants.

Clooney also voiced a character in Fantastic Mr. Fox alongside Wilson. I don’t know that an actor could get a more glowing recommendation than Clooney being willing to share the screen with you.

Either way, I think Dano’s body of work has spoken for itself, and while I’m a fan of his films, maybe Tarantino should just keep his very niche unpopular opinions to himself.