Quentin Tarantino Now Comes After Owen Wilson in a Surprising Rant - “I Really Can’t Stand [Him]”
Quentin Tarantino is still on the war path slamming actors he doesn’t like. Fresh off calling Paul Dano “uninteresting” and “the weakest f*king actor in SAG”, the filmmaker used his appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast to unload even more opinions.
While running through his top twenty films of the century, he praised There Will Be Blood but didn’t hold back on the actors involved. Dano wasn’t the only one caught in the crossfire.
Tarantino also took aim at Loki star Owen Wilson. Wilson has been a familiar face in Hollywood for over twenty years, starring in comedies like Zoolander, Wedding Crashers and Pixar’s Cars. More recently he stepped into the MCU as Mobius M. Mobius in the Disney Plus hit Loki.
Even though Wilson is a fun actor that tends to play likeable characters, Tarantino made it clear he is not on the Owen Wilson train. While discussing the films he ranked, he brought up Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which features Wilson in the lead role and landed tenth on Tarantino’s list.
What followed was a candid confession that swung between admiration for the film and irritation toward its star.
Tarantino said via Entertainment Weekly, "I really can't stand Owen Wilson. I mean, I can't stand him. I spent the first time watching the movie loving it and hating him.
“The second time I watched the movie, I was like, 'Ah, okay, don't be such a pr—ck. He's not so bad. He's not so bad.' Then, the third time I watched it, I found myself only watching him."
And Wilson wasn’t the only actor Tarantino piled onto during the episode. While revisiting his issue with Dano, he also threw in Scooby-Doo and Scream star Matthew Lillard, stating through People: "I don't care for [Paul Dano], I don't care for Owen Wilson, I don't care for Matthew Lillard."
Oh, come on! Why is he taking a shot at Matthew Lillard! He’s awesome! Everyone loved Matthew Lillard!
This isn’t the first time Tarantino has separated his love of Midnight in Paris from his dislike of Wilson. Back in 2012 on The Howard Stern Show, he explained that he considered the film the best of its year even though he still struggled with its star. He said:
"I liked Owen Wilson more than I ever had before. [...] Comedy actors, you either really like them or you don't. And he's one of those comedy actors I don't like. I just don't think he's funny."
For someone with Tarantino’s reputation for honesty, these comments still feel unusually sharp. Hollywood thrives on collaboration, and most filmmakers tread carefully when talking about actors in this way. Tarantino clearly isn’t worried about any kind kind of fallout.
Maybe Tarantino has just just reached his old man ranting age, and any kind of filter he used to have is now completely gone.