The one-sided feud between Quentin Tarantino and Paul Dano bamboozled Hollywood. But it seems Paul is winning. Last week, Quentin went on the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast and shared his rather strong feelings about Paul.
Per Quentin, Paul was no match for Daniel Day-Lewis in 2007's There Will Be Blood. "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."
Well, a week after Quentin's opinions went public, Paul landed another gig. The 41-year-old actor is set to star in the psychological thriller, Bunker, by Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Zeller. The French director is known for his play-turned film, The Father. Paul will appear alongside Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Stephen Graham.
Bunker, which is the follow up to Florian's film, The Son, is already filming. The thriller follows an unraveling family as a mysterious construction project — a bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul — infiltrates their lives. After Florian cast Paul, the director said in a statement: "[He] has consistently impressed me as an actor. He possesses an extraordinary singularity — something genuinely unique — and in that sense, he is truly irreplaceable."
Celebrities defend Paul Dano
Paul is a relatively private celebrity, but his name has been all over since Quentin decided to air his beef. And while the actor has remained silent on the matter, his friends in the industry have rushed to give their support.
© Getty ImagesReese Witherspoon posted to Threads on December 6, writing: "Paul Dano is an incredibly gifted, versatile actor. More importantly, he is a gentleman." Comedian Zach Woods, who is also something of a TikTok star, posted a few videos defending Paul. "Us very weird looking white boys have to stand up for each other," Zach said in a TikTok liked by 239.6K users.
© Getty ImagesPaul's There Will Be Blood co-star, Daniel Day-Lewis emerged from his private life to defend Paul. The Oscar winning actor, who is notoriously private, living in rural Ireland instead of Hollywood, affirmed a message shared to a fake Instagram account.
© Getty ImagesThe message, which was posted to an account claiming to be Daniel, said: "Paul Dano is one of the best and most talented actors of his generation." The post was later removed, but Daniel's representatives told the Guardian that he endorsed the note, reminding those following along that the actor recommended Paul for the role of Eli Sunday after the first actor left.
© FilmMagic for HBOPaul's newest co-star, Patrick Schwarzenegger, who is starring alongside him in Bunker, wrote to X: "Love Paul Dano! Can't wait to work with him." Ben Stiller didn't mince words, writing to X: "Paul Dano is [expletive] brilliant."
© Getty ImagesSimu Liu chimed in on the conversation, writing to X on December 4: "idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor." And in classic Alec Baldwin style, the actor shared a video to Instagram, saying: "I just wanna say, I love Paul Dano. And if you don't love Paul Dano, shhh."
