Legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has unleashed a no-holds-barred critique of several fellow Hollywood stars, singling out actor Paul Dano for particularly harsh criticism and labelling his performance in an Oscar-winning film as a 'big, giant flaw'.
Tarantino's Top Ten Sparks Fiery Tirade
The Pulp Fiction director made the incendiary comments during a conversation with author Bret Easton Ellis about his top ten films of the 21st century. While praising the 2007 epic 'There Will Be Blood', which he placed at number five, Tarantino argued the film was severely let down by one of its leads.
He stated the movie, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, was supposed to be a 'two-hander' but was undermined by Dano's portrayal of preacher Eli Sunday. 'He is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister,' Tarantino declared. '[Daniel] is eating him [alive]. He's just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.'
Tarantino suggested that actor Austin Butler would have been 'wonderful' in the role instead, and questioned the casting choice with an expletive, asking why you would pair Day-Lewis with 'the weakest f*****g actor in SAG'.
Dano and Wilson Land on 'Do Not Care For' List
The 62-year-old director clarified that he did not consider Dano's performance 'terrible', but rather a 'non-entity performance', bluntly adding 'I don't care for him'. He then extended his list of least-favourite actors, naming comedy star Owen Wilson and Scream actor Matthew Lillard.
The criticism of Wilson came with an ironic twist, as Tarantino placed Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris', which stars Wilson, at number ten in his list. He admitted that despite really 'can't standing' the Wedding Crashers actor, he was eventually impressed by his work in the Allen film after multiple viewings.
Film Fans Divided by Director's Blunt Assessment
Tarantino's unfiltered opinions, shared on December 4, 2025, quickly divided film enthusiasts online. Some applauded his candour, with one fan on Reddit calling him 'one of the most refreshing and genuine voices in Hollywood'.
Others found his remarks needlessly harsh, with one critic describing his comments about Dano as 'douchey', arguing that even if the performance was lacking, such public dismissal was uncalled for.
The rest of Tarantino's top ten list was revealed to include:
- Black Hawk Down in the top spot.
- Toy Story 3 at number two, which he called 'almost a perfect movie'.
'There Will Be Blood' ultimately won two Academy Awards in 2008, including Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis's iconic performance as oilman Daniel Plainview.
