Quentin Tarantino has ignited a firestorm in Hollywood with a scathing critique of actor Paul Dano, labelling his performance in the acclaimed film There Will Be Blood as a "big, giant flaw". The controversial comments have now drawn a sharp rebuke from a co-star of the 2008 period drama.
Tarantino's Savage Podcast Critique
During an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, the 62-year-old filmmaker was listing his top twenty favourite movies. He revealed that Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece, There Will Be Blood, would have been a contender for the number one or two spot on his list if not for one element: Paul Dano's performance.
Tarantino compared Dano's work directly against that of the film's lead, the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis. He described Dano as "weak sauce" and a "weak sister", claiming the intended "two-hander" dynamic failed because Dano was a "weak, weak, uninteresting guy". In a further provocative suggestion, Tarantino said actor Austin Butler would have been "wonderful" in the role, a notion later dismissed due to Butler's age at the time of filming.
Co-Star Rushes to Defence of 'Perfect' Film
The backlash was swift online, with fans branding Tarantino's comments "classless" and "an insane take" on platforms like Reddit. Now, a voice from within the film itself has weighed in. Dillon Freasier, who played the young H.W. Plainview opposite Day-Lewis, has robustly defended the film and its casting.
Speaking to TMZ, Freasier stated, "The film is perfect. It's a work of art. And it's that way because everyone was perfectly cast." For Freasier, There Will Be Blood marked his sole film role, adding personal weight to his defence of the project's legacy.
Revealing a Top Ten with Surprises
Tarantino's podcast appearance was primarily to discuss his personal top ten films of the 21st century, a list that contained several surprises. He crowned Ridley Scott's 2001 war epic Black Hawk Down as the best film of the century, praising its relentless intensity and calling it a "masterwork".
His top five was notably eclectic:
- Black Hawk Down (2001) - Ridley Scott
- Toy Story 3 (2010) - Lee Unkrich
- Lost in Translation (2003) - Sofia Coppola
- Dunkirk (2017) - Christopher Nolan
- There Will Be Blood (2007) - Paul Thomas Anderson
He expressed deep emotion for Toy Story 3, describing its finale as something that "ripped my f*****g heart out". The list was rounded out by Zodiac (2007), Unstoppable (2010), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Shaun of the Dead (2004), and Midnight in Paris (2011).
The incident highlights the divisive nature of Tarantino's public pronouncements, transforming a discussion about cinematic favourites into a major controversy about artistic respect and performance critique within the film industry.
