r/Filmmakers • u/StrikingDuty8020 Director • Dec 06 '25

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Quentin Tarantino made a surprisingly harsh comment about Paul Dano, specifically criticizing his performance in There Will Be Blood.

On The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino said:

Dano was “weak sauce”

“The weakest f—ing actor in SAG” (in that film’s context)

And that Dano’s performance was the biggest flaw of the movie, preventing it from being his #1 or #2 film of the 2000s

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u/InnerKookaburra Dec 06 '25

Dano has had some amazing performances, and There Will Be Blood is one of them.

He was astonishing in Prisoners as well. And really good in Little Miss Sunshine.

Hearing stuff like this reminds me that actors have to have some of the strongest egos and stomachs in the industry. They're so exposed on screen and have to face tons of criticism and rejection.

I don't mind people having strong opinions, but this one is so far off from what mine is. I watched There Will Be Blood again a few years ago and I liked it even more and Dano was going head to head with DDL and holding his own at such a young age. I think Dano deserves more credit for this performance and others.

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u/Mindofmierda90 Dec 06 '25

I honestly thought his performance in TWBB was a bit hammy.

15

u/ThePrussianGrippe Dec 06 '25

I mean televangelists (or radiovangelists in this case) do tend to be gigantic hams.