What happened between Paul Dano and Quentin Tarintino? Complete feud explained as Ben Stiller, Matt Reeves, and more defend actor

Quentin Tarantino, during a December 2 appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, called Paul Dano a "weak sauce."

Host Bret Easton Ellis asked Tarantino about his top movies of the 21st century, and Tarantino named There Will Be Blood, featuring Dano, in 2007. Tarantino called the film his fifth favorite film of the last 25 years and said the movie,

"would stand a better chance to be in number one or number two 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, and it's also so drastically obvious that it's not a two-hander. He is a weak sauce man. He's a weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role."

Host Ellis then questioned if Tarantino thinks Dano was simply the wrong choice for the role, to which he responded,

"He's just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy...Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn't need (a strong foil in the movie). He doesn't need anything. The movie would've had more-there would've been more stringiness to the beef. And again, it's not supposed to be a two-hander, and it's not."

When Ellis explained that Day-Lewis's performance in the film is "so garangutan" that it might overshadow Dano's performance, Tarantino responded and said,

"So you put him with the weakest male actor in SAG? The limpest d**k in the world?"

Matt Reeves, Ben Stiller and more defend Paul Dano amid Quentin Tarantino's criticism

After Quentin Tarantino's criticism of Paul Dano, Matt Reeves and several other stars took to social media to show solidarity with Dano. Matt Reeves, who directed Dano as the Riddler in The Batman, took to X and said,

"Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person."

Ben Stiller also wrote on X,

"Paul Dano is f***ng brilliant."

Marvel star Simu Liu also wrote,

"idk man I think paul dano is an incredible actor."

The Batman Part II screenwriter, Mattson Tomlin, also wrote,

"I am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he's an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy. Check out 'Wildlife' if you haven't seen it."

Alec Baldwin, in an Instagram video, said,

Trending

"I just wanna say I love Paul Dano...and if you don't love Paul Dano, shhhh."

Comedian Zach Woods said in an Instagram video that "weird-looking white boys have to stand up for each other" and told Tarantino to "shut up."

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