Quentin Tarantino Calls Paul Dano ‘Weakest Male Actor in SAG‘
Director Quentin Tarantino has ignited controversy with blunt criticism of actor Paul Dano’s performance in โthe 2007 film There Will Be Blood. Tarantino labeled Dano “weak sauce” and the “weakest male โขactor in SAG,” asserting his performance detracted from the film’s potential. the remarks, made on The Bretโค Easton Ellis Podcast,โข resurfaced this week,โ prompting discussion about actor-director dynamics and the impact of casting choices on cinematic โฃmasterpieces.
Tarantino’s assessment centers on the dynamic betweenโ Dano and his co-star, Daniel Day-Lewis, in โข There Will Be Blood. He argued the film โฃwas intended as a “two-hander” butโ failed to achieve that balance โdue to Dano’s performance. “Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s โnot a two-hander,”โ tarantino said. โHe believes a strongerโ performanceโ opposite Day-Lewis would have โadded โฃ”more โstringiness to the beef.” Tarantino further โdescribed Dano’s work as a “non-entity,” clarifying he wasn’t โฃcriticizing the performance as “terrible” but rather lacking presence.
the director contrasted Day-lewis’ Oscar-winningโ portrayal of Daniel Plainview, statingโ the actor “doesn’t need anything” to carry the film. When Ellis suggested Day-Lewis’ performance may have overshadowed Dano,โ Tarantino responded, “So you put him with the weakest male actorโข in SAG? โคThe limpest dick in the world?”
Tarantino also expressed general dislike for actors Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard, stating, “I โฃdon’t care for him. I don’t โcare for Owen Wilson, I don’t โcare for Matthew Lillard.”
Representatives for Paul Dano did not respond โto requests for comment from The Hollywood Reporter regarding Tarantino’sโข statements.
There Will Be Blood received eight Academy Award โnominations โคin 2008,winning for Best Actor (Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography. A 2007 Hollywood reporter review predicted the film’s awards success, โpraising Day-Lewis’โ “powerhouse performance” and calling the film “a certain awards contender.” John DeFore wrote at โthe time that Day-Lewis “stuns โคin Paul Thomas Anderson’s saga of a soul-dead oilโข man.”
