"He is weak sauce:" Quentin Tarantino calls out There Will Be Blood star Paul Dano for his performance

Quentin Tarantino recently bashed Paul Dano for his performance as the Sunday twins in There Will Be Blood.

During an episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where the filmmaker ranked his favorite films of the century, he placed the 2007 film in the fifth spot. He said that Dano was a major flaw that prevented the film from being ranked in the top spot.

He added that Dano couldn’t match the Daniel Day-Lewis’ intensity, and said:

“Obviously, it's supposed to be a two-hander, and it's also so drastically obvious that it's not a two-hander. He is weak sauce, man. He's a weak sister.”

Tarantino continued to slam Dano, noting that “Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role.” He ended his statement by calling The Batman actor “weakest f–king actor in SAG.”

Continue to read for more information.

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Bret Easton Ellis defends Paul Dano after Quentin Tarantino’s criticism

In a recent episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where Quentin Tarantino harshly criticized Paul Dano for his “weak” performance in There Will Be Blood, the host, Bret Easton Ellis, came to his defence, and said:

“Daniel Day-Lewis also makes it impossible to make it a two-hander because there are aspects of that performance that are so gargantuan.”

This prompted Quentin Tarantino to quip:

“So you put him with the weakest male actor in SAG?”

To which Ellis replied:

“I'm not saying he's giving a terrible performance. I'm saying he's giving a non-entity performance.”

Lewis portrayed oil tycoon Daniel Plainview in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed film. Reportedly, he won the Academy Award for this role. As well as a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.

During the podcast discussion, when Ellis asked Tarantino if he had enjoyed Dano’s role in any project, he replied that he didn’t care for him.

Quentin Tarantino’s criticism also sparked mixed reactions from fans, with some defending Dano’s role in the film and others calling out the Pulp Fiction director.

“That's a pretty brutal take. Dano stepping into that role with two days' notice and holding his own against Day-Lewis is actually pretty impressive when you look at the context.” A user noted.

“Listen, I think Tarantino is the GOAT when it comes to character development and storytelling, nobody touches him there. But he’s way off on this one. Dano absolutely crushed that role.” A second added.

“I love QT’s movies, but he couldn’t be more wrong here. Dano was perfect for the role and worked so well with the force that is DDL.” A third commented.

This is not the first time that Quentin Tarantino has called out Paul Dano. But previously in August this year, during a segment with Sky Movies, he argued that Dano's portrayal felt like a "compromise", unable to match Daniel Day-Lewis's intensity.

He compared it to a boxing match and added:

“He’s just not in the level and the caliber of Daniel Day-Lewis and if the two characters are meant to be combatants throughout the film, then Daniel Day‑Lewis is Muhammad Ali and Paul Dano is Jerry Quarry — it is what it is.”

In a BBC interview, Lewis explained how Dano was cast last-minute for both twins after another actor left. His statement added context to the rushed preparation that Tarantino overlooked.

Paul Dano played the role of twin brothers Paul Sunday and Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood. While Paul is quiet and pragmatic, Eli is charismatic and manipulative.