Paul Dano fans are not having it after Quentin Tarantino trashed the actor for no apparent reason.
Quentin Tarantino lashes out at Paul Dano
The Pulp Fiction director recently appeared on Bret Easton Ellis's podcast to rank his top 20 movies of the 21st century. When he got to his fifth choice, 2007's There Will Be Blood, he lashed out at Dano's performance.
"There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being number one or two if it didn't have a big, giant flaw in it," he said. "And the flaw is Paul Dano."
Tarantino didn't stop there, instead going on to suggest a then-teenaged Austin Butler would have been better for the role, calling Dano "the weakest male actor in SAG" and "the limpest dick in the world."
"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's a weak sister," he continued. "He's just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy."
The Dano defense squad rises
First of all, as many people pointed out, the story is that Dano stepped in to fill one of his two roles in the movie with just four days' notice, while filming was already underway. That's a tough challenge for any actor. But Dano's work in There Will Be Blood has largely been praised, and many people disagree with Tarantino's assessment that he shouldn't have worked alongside a powerhouse like star Daniel Day-Lewis.
More than that though, the director's remarks are just in poor form. Just because he dislikes a performance, which he's allowed to do, doesn't mean going on a lengthy, mean-spirited rant about someone in his industry is the right thing to do.
As a result, people came out in droves to show support for Dano and dunk on Tarantino for being such a tool for no reason.
"calling Paul Dano’s acting weak when all of his own movies are derailed by a hamfisted cameo in which Tarantino botches the delivery of LINES HE WROTE"
Even Simu Liu joined in, keeping things simple but to-the-point: "idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor."
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
