Paul Dano Breaks Silence on Quentin Tarantino Slamming Him as a ‘Weak, Uninteresting’ Actor

Paul Dano is speaking out after Quentin Tarantino harshly criticized him, calling him the “weakest” actor in Hollywood.

During a December 2025 episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino, 62, argued that Dano, 41, was the one misstep in the Oscar-winning 2007 film There Will Be Blood. The Django Unchained director described Dano as “just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.” When host Bret Easton Ellis suggested Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance may have been so massive it overshadowed Dano’s, Tarantino doubled down, adding, “So you put him with the weakest male actor in SAG? The limpest dick in the world?”

The comments quickly sparked backlash, with multiple Hollywood figures publicly defending Dano. Until now, Dano hadn’t responded directly — but he addressed the moment when Variety asked him about it at the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Toni Collette, who joined Dano at Sundance for the 20th anniversary of Little Miss Sunshine, didn’t hold back 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?”

Asked about the wave of public support from fellow actors, Dano said, “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 called Tarantino’s remarks an “embarrassment,” adding, “I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable.” Co-director Valerie Faris echoed the point, noting how quickly others rallied around Dano: “You know what was interesting was the people coming out to defend Paul. There was immediately. … He is loved by so many. He is so smart.”

Dano’s filmography includes titles such as The Batman, The Fabelmans, Prisoners, and Love & Mercy. He received a BAFTA Best Supporting Actor nomination for There Will Be Blood, and has also earned a Golden Globe nomination and two Emmy nominations.

In December, The Batman director Matt Reeves wrote on X: “Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.” Ben Stiller, who directed him on the limited series Escape at Dannemora, also posted on X: “idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor.”

During the same podcast appearance, Tarantino continued listing actors he said he doesn’t care for, adding of Dano: “I’m not saying he’s giving a terrible performance. I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity [performance]. I don’t care for him. I don’t care for Owen Wilson, I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.” Lillard, 56, has since responded to the comment.