Paul Dano Finally Responds to Quentin Tarantino’s Harsh Criticism

Paul Dano has finally responded to Quentin Tarantino's comments from several months ago, claiming that he's "weak" and "uninteresting".

Speaking before a 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine at the Sundance Film Festival, Dano was asked about Tarantino's comments. Before the actor had a chance to respond, his co-star Toni Collette jumped in with a scathing response: "Are we really going there? [Tarantino] must have been high... it was just confusing. Who does that?" (via Variety)

Dano avoided commenting on Tarantino's criticism, instead praising those in Hollywood who stuck up for him in the days that followed. "That was really nice," he admitted. "I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to.”

Quentin Tarantino Called Paul Dano "The Weakest F**king Actor In SAG"

The controversy started following the director's appearance on Brett Easton Ellis' podcast to discuss his picks for the best movies of the 21st century. He revealed that he wanted to name There Will Be Blood as his top pick, but he felt that Dano's performance ruined the movie for him.

"[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. [Daniel] is eating him [alive]. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy," Tarantino expressed—but his criticisms didn't stop there. "Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander and it’s not! … you put him with the the weakest f**king actor in SAG? The limpest dick in the world?”

Hollywood Reacted With an Outpouring of Praise for Dano

In the days that followed Tarantino's comments, many of Dano's old co-stars took to social media to voice their appreciation and admiration of the actor. George Clooney, who famously worked alongside Tarantino on From Dusk Till Dawn, admitted he'd be "honored to work with" Paul Dano. Ben Stiller, who directed Dano in Escape at Dannemora, called the actor "f**king brilliant".

At Sundance, Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris also weighed in on the discourse. "I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He couldn’t be easily filed.”