Paul Dano responds after Quentin Tarantino calls him a 'weak' actor

Paul Dano has finally addressed Quentin Tarantino’s harsh criticism of his work. 

The remarks emerged in December 2025 on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast, where Tarantino called Dano the “weakest” actor in Hollywood and singled him out as the only flaw in There Will Be Blood.

The director argued that Dano’s performance paled next to Daniel Day-Lewis. He went on to dismiss Dano as uninteresting and implied he lacked presence on screen. The comments quickly went viral and sparked backlash across the industry.

However, Dano, 41, stayed silent all this time until recently, when Variety brought it up during a chat at the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday.

At first, it was Toni Collette, also present there with Dano to attend the 20th anniversary of Little Miss Sunshine, who came to the actor's defense when the topic came up. 

"F*** that guy!" Collette, 53, said of Tarantino. "He must’ve been high. It was just confusing. Who does that?”

Dano responded to his fellow co-star, saying, "That was really nice. I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me, so I didn’t have to."

Little Miss Sunshine co-director Jonathan Dayton also told the outlet that Tarantino’s comments were an “embarrassment."

"I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable," Dayton added. Director Valerie Faris also defended Dano.

Several high-profile figures echoed that support online. The Batman director Matt Reeves praised Dano’s talent and character, while Ben Stiller also called him an incredible actor.

Dano’s career includes acclaimed roles in The Batman, Prisoners, Love & Mercy, and The Fabelmans. He received a BAFTA nomination for There Will Be Blood and has earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

Tarantino later clarified that he did not think Dano was terrible. He said he simply found his performance forgettable.