Quentin Tarantino delivers jaw-dropping Paul Dano criticism that has fans pushing back

Quentin Tarantino is stirring up debate again, this time with a surprising attack on Paul Dano’s performance in There Will Be Blood.

Speaking on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino revealed his top 20 films of the century and placed Paul Thomas Anderson’s oil-epic at number five. But he claimed the film would “stand a better chance” at number one if it were not for what he called its “giant flaw”: Paul Dano.

Tarantino described Dano as “weak sauce”, “a weak sister”, and even “the weakest male actor in SAG”, arguing that the intended two-hander dynamic between Daniel Day-Lewis and Dano never worked. He suggested Austin Butler “would have been wonderful” in the role, despite Butler being only 16 when the film was released in 2007.

Ellis defended Dano, noting that Day-Lewis’ towering performance would overshadow almost anyone, but Tarantino doubled down and admitted he does not care for Dano in any project.

Many film fans have since countered Tarantino’s take, pointing out that Dano was originally cast only as Paul Sunday and stepped into the much larger role of Eli Sunday at the last minute, with just days to prepare. His performance was widely praised at the time and earned him a BAFTA nomination.

Others highlighted Dano’s acclaimed career since, from Prisoners and Little Miss Sunshine to The Batman, Okja and The Fabelmans, arguing that his versatility is exactly what makes him one of Hollywood’s most respected character actors.