Quentin Tarantino slams “weakest male actor in SAG” for spoiling what he argues could have been best film of the century

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Quentin Tarantino claims a subpar performance by an unnamed male actor derailed what he believes could have been the greatest film of the 21st century.

This week, filmmaker and actor Ethan Hawke shared his 20 favorite movies from the 21st century on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast. He ranked Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down as his number one pick, followed by Toy Story 3 in second place and Lost in Translation close behind in third.

Interestingly, Quentin Tarantino ranked There Will Be Blood at number five, though he felt a performance by one of the main actors negatively impacted the film.

The film is intended to focus on two main characters, but it quickly becomes clear that it doesn’t quite work. Dano’s performance feels underwhelming and doesn’t carry the weight it needs to.

At just 23 years old, Dano became famous in the 2007 hit film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, where he impressively played both Paul and Eli Sunday. He was initially hired to play only Paul, but after two weeks of filming, the actor originally cast as Eli was replaced because he wasn’t a good fit for the role, and Dano took on both parts.

I was pretty shocked to hear Tarantino call Paul Dano “weak” and “uninteresting,” even going so far as to say he thought Dano was the weakest male actor in the Screen Actors Guild! What really got people talking was that he believed a then-16-year-old Austin Butler would have been a better fit for the part. It was a really strong opinion, to say the least.

When a podcast host asked Quentin Tarantino if he liked Paul Dano’s work, Tarantino responded that he doesn’t enjoy the performances of Dano, Owen Wilson, or Matthew Lillard.

I’m not suggesting Dano is bad in the role, just that his performance isn’t making much of an impact; it’s forgettable.

Paul Dano started acting at age 12 and first gained widespread recognition for his role as Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine. His character was a young, aspiring pilot who had taken a vow of silence and was inspired by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. More recently, Dano starred as The Riddler in The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson, and he’s set to return for the sequel, scheduled to come out in 2027.

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2025-12-03 18:04