A popular film star has responded after Quentin Tarantino controversially dubbed him as the 'weakest f*****g actor' in Hollywood.
Although he's regarded as one of the most influential film directors in history, producing iconic features such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, many in the business turned against Tarantino following his unjustifiably harsh comments late last year.
The 62-year-old was on The Bret Easton Ellis podcast when he was asked about his top 10 films, suggesting that There Will Be Blood would have featured far higher than number five if it weren't for the performance of just one man.
That man was Paul Dano, the 41-year-old actor who featured alongside Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2007 film, which landed the 68-year-old an Oscar for Best Actor, meaning anyone alongside him would have perhaps struggled to match his memorable performance.
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He said: "There Will Be Blood would stand a better chance to be in number one or number two if it didn't have a big giant flaw in it, and the flaw is Paul Dano.
“[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. [Daniel] is eating him [alive]. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.
"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*****g actor in SAG? The limpest d*** in the world?”
Ironically, Butler would have been a very young teenager when the film was being made, so Tarantino's comments don't hold up there either, and many big names in the business stepped up in Dano's defence.
The man himself has finally had his say nearly two months on from Tarantino's comments, although he focused more on the public's support rather than giving any time to the comments of Tarantino.
He told Variety at the 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival: “That was really nice. I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to.”
His other co-stars and directors were a little more strong-worded in their backing of Dano however, with Toni Collette particularly critical of Tarantino's comments.
She said: "Are we really going there? F*** that guy! He must’ve been high… it was just confusing. Who does that?”
Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris also weighed in the controversy, with Dayton calling his remarks an 'embarrassment', suggesting: “I can only think that his rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He couldn’t be easily filed.”
Faris added: “You know what was interesting was the people coming out to defend Paul. There was immediately… he is loved by so many. He is so smart.”
Topics: Quentin Tarantino, TV and Film, US News, Entertainment
James Moorhouse