Quentin Tarantino has once again taken aim at one of Paul Dano’s performances.
The 62-year-old filmmaker recently shared his list of the Top 20 Movies of the 21st Century, which included Paul Thomas Anderson’s "There Will Be Blood" (2007). While Tarantino praised the film itself, he made it clear that he still has major issues with Dano’s portrayal of twin brothers Eli and Paul Sunday.
Speaking on The Brett Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino said the movie would have ranked even higher on his list — he placed it at No. 5 — if not for what he sees as a glaring flaw.
As he put it:
“There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being #1 or #2 if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano. Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, but it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander.”
Tarantino then continued:
“[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest f-cking actor in SAG [laughs].”
This isn’t the first time Quentin Tarantino has spoken unfavorably about Dano's performance. He previously said that while there’s nothing technically wrong with it, the portrayal still “does seem a compromise.”
He also once compared the dynamic between the characters in the film, saying:
“He’s just not in the level and the caliber and the caliber of Daniel Day-Lewis and if the two characters are meant to be combats throughout the film, then Daniel Day-Lewis is Muhammed Ali and Paul Dano is Jerry Corey. It is what it is.”
Dano has explained over the years that the circumstances behind his casting were unusual. He was originally hired to play only Paul Sunday, but when the actor set to play Eli dropped out, he was suddenly tasked with doing both roles with almost no prep time.
As Dano recalled:
“I was cast at the last minute. I had three and a half to four days to get ready for the first day. I just went for it, threw myself in there and gave it everything I had. That was just guts and instinct, not a lot of preparation. I was in good hands with Paul [Thomas Anderson] and Daniel [Day Lewis], I felt I had to cut loose and go for it.”
