Lookout! There's new beef in Hollywood! Quentin Tarantino apparently does not like actor Paul Dano. The Oscar winning screenwriter opened up about his feelings towards the Little Miss Sunshine actor while appearing on the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.
Quentin went on the podcast to chat about his top ten favorite movies of the century. His fifth favorite was 2007's There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Quentin explained that he would've rated the film higher if not for a "big giant flaw."
But what is that flaw? Well, per Quentin, Paul was no match for Daniel Day-Lewis, the star of the film who won an Oscar for his performance. "Obviously, it's supposed to be a two-hander, and it's also so drastically obvious that it's not a two-hander," the director said. "He is weak sauce, man. He's a weak sister."
That wasn't all Quentin said about the actor. He later called Paul "uninteresting," and said he doesn't care for him. While Quentin may have many thoughts about Paul, the actor isn't the flashiest in Hollywood. Here's everything we know about the 41-year-old actor.
© Getty ImagesPaul grew up near New York City
The actor was born in 1984 in New York City. He and his family lived there for a few years of his childhood, with Paul attending the private elementary school, Browning School, on the Upper East Side. Later, the Danos moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, which is an hour outside of the city via train.
While growing up, Paul was involved in community theater. The actor ended up back in the city when he attended Eugene Lang College – which is now The New School.
© Getty ImagesPaul acted from a young age
When he was 12-years-old, Paul made his Broadway debut in John Tillinger's revival of Inherit the Wind. He caught the acting bug, and went on to appear in several television shows like The Sopranos and Smart Guy. From 2000 to 2005, Paul starred in several movies alongside actors like Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke.
© Alamy Stock PhotoHis breakout role in Little Miss Sunshine
In 2006, Paul played Dwayne, a voluntarily mute teenager in the indie-comedy, Little Miss Sunshine. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year and was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Paul starred in the film alongside Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin. In 2007, Paul won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actor. And when he accepted it, he noted that while filming Little Miss Sunshine, he was "stuck in the backseat of a very hot van next to a grumpy and smelly Alan Arkin, [but] for a young guy, that was a real privilege."
© Getty ImagesThere Will Be Blood and Paul's other acclaimed work
The film which started the one-sided beef between Quentin and Paul premiered in 2007. The actor had a dual role in the period film loosely based on the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. Paul played both Paul and Eli Sunday. One character (Paul) informs Daniel Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview about oil on a nearby ranch, and the other (Eli) is an evangelical preacher.
Interestingly, Paul was originally only cast in the role of Paul. He took on the dual role of Eli and his brother Paul Sunday at the last minute just a few weeks into filming. Director Paul Thomas Anderson ended up rewriting the script to make the brothers identical twins.
Paul was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for his work in the film, even if Quentin believed he was "weak sauce."
After his work in There Will Be Blood, Paul starred in many other critically acclaimed roles, including Love & Mercy in which he portrayed Brian Wilson, and The Batman, where he appeared as a terrifying version of The Riddler.
In 2022, Paul starred as Burt Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's Oscar nominated film, The Fabelmans.
© Getty ImagesPaul's personal life
Since the year There Will Be Blood premiered, Paul has been in a relationship with actress and screenwriter Zoe Kazan, who is best known for Revolutionary Road and It's Complicated. The couple co-wrote the 2018 film Wildlife.
Zoe and Paul have two children – Alma Bay, who was born in 2018, and another child whose name they have not shared publicly, who was born in 2022. The family lives in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
