Paul Dano breaks silence on Quentin Tarantinos…
Paul Dano has damaged his silence.
The “Little Miss Sunshine” star has finally responded almost two months after Quentin Tarantino slammed him as a “weak” and “uninteresting” actor during an look on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast” launched back on Dec. 2.
Several Hollywood stars got here to Dano’s protection after Tarantino’s controversial remarks, and the “Batman” star thanked them for their help while addressing the shocking matter.
Paul Dano during the Berlinale International Film Festival on Feb. 21, 2024. Getty Images
Quentin Tarantino during the Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“That was really nice,” Dano, 41, told Variety while celebrating the twentieth anniversary of “Little Miss Sunshine” at the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday.
“I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to,” he added.
But one of Dano’s former “Little Miss Sunshine” co-stars, Toni Collette, had a harsher response to the “eliminate Bill” filmmaker relating to the disparaging feedback.
Paul Dano shortly before capturing “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2006. J. Scott Wynn
Quentin Tarantino during the Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2023. Getty Images
“F–k that guy!” the 53-year-old actress charged during the event, per Variety. “He must’ve been high…It was just confusing. Who does that?”
Collette was joined by “Little Miss Sunshine” co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris in firing back at Tarantino after his assault against Dano.
“I can only think that the rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable,” Dayton, 68, told Variety after calling Tarantino’s remarks an “embarrassment.”
Toni Collette during a particular screening of “Mafia Mamma” in NYC on April 11, 2023. Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
“You know what was interesting was the people coming out to defend Paul,” Faris, 67, added. “There was immediately…He is loved by so many. He is so smart.”
The Post has reached out to Tarantino’s reps for remark.
The “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” director, 62, got here under fire last month while naming his top 10 motion pictures of the twenty first century on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.”
Although Tarantino ranked Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 hit “There Will Be visible injury” fifth, he pressured that it might have been ranked larger if not for Dano’s efficiency.
Quentin Tarantino at the Burbank International Film Festival Gala on Sept. 28, 2025. Getty Images
Paul Dano in “There Will Be visible injury.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“‘There Will Be visible injury’ would stand a better chance to be in No. 1 or No. 2 if it didn’t have a big giant flaw in it, and the flaw is Paul Dano,” he said at the time.
“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander,” Tarantino added.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker went on to call Dano, who portrayed both Eli and Paul Sunday in the film, a “weak sister” and argued that “another terrific actor” ought to have taken on the twin function instead.
Quentin Tarantino at the LA premiere of “The Perfect Gamble” on Nov. 12, 2025. Getty Images
Paul Dano in “There Will Be visible injury.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role,” he continued. “[Dano] is just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.”
Tarantino then said that Dano gave a “non-entity performance” in “There Will Be visible injury” before naming two further actors that he “doesn’t care for.”
“I don’t care for him,” the “Django Unchained” director concluded. “I don’t care for him, I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
Quentin Tarantino at the Hotel Belles Rives in Antibes, France, on June 9, 2023. Getty Images for Belles Rives Group
Countless celebrities rushed to the “Dumb Money” star’s protection, including many with whom Dano labored alongside, like Matt Reeves and Ben Stiller.
“Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person,” the “Batman” director tweeted after Tarantino’s feedback.
“idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor,” Stiller, who labored with Dano for “Escape at Dannemora,” added at the time.
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