What did Quentin Tarantino say about Paul Dano? Alec Baldwin and others extend support to the actor after the filmmaker's harsh remarks

Paul Dano is receiving support from various personalities after Quentin Tarantino’s comments. The latter referred to Dano’s performance in the film, There Will Be Blood, while speaking on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. The popular director claimed that the main flaw of the movie was Paul.

Tarantino made the statement this week on Wednesday, December 3. While his words grabbed a lot of attention on social media, celebrities started reacting.

The latest personality to address the issue was Alec Baldwin. However, he did not refer directly to Tarantino while speaking up. The Brooklyn Rules star recorded a video while sitting inside a vehicle and was heard saying:

“I just want to say, I love Paul Dano.”

Baldwin nodded his head a few times and continued:

“And if you don’t love Paul Dano…”

Alec then put a finger on his mouth. Apart from him, Matt Reeves also responded. Dano has previously collaborated with Reeves in The Batman. Matt also did not mention the name of Tarantino anywhere. On X (formerly Twitter), Reeves wrote:

“Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.”

Furthermore, The Batman: Part II co-writer Mattson Tomlin wrote on the same platform that he was happy to see many people coming out in support of Dano. Tomlin described Paul as a “terrific actor” and praised Dano’s direction skills at the same time.

Paul Dano receives support from various personalities: Quentin Tarantino's comments explained

The Cowboys & Aliens star has not shared any response to the director’s words so far. As mentioned, popular faces have been posting their reply to Tarantino’s comments on various platforms.

During his interview on the podcast, Tarantino opened up about the top movies that are included in his list of favorites, as reported by People magazine. While putting There Will Be Blood in the fifth spot, Tarantino said that the film could have been anywhere in the top two positions if it did not have a “flaw” in the form of Dano.

“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander… He is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister… Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role,” Tarantino said.

Tarantino even described Paul as an individual who was “weak” and “uninteresting.” Tarantino even claimed that Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the movie’s main leads, does not have to depend on anything.

Actors Ben Stiller and Simu Liu have also reacted to the comments. While the former called Paul Dano a “brilliant” man on X, Simu said that Paul is an “incredible actor.” Notably, Paul’s co-star Daniel Day-Lewis has not responded yet. However, he spoke to the BBC a year after the film’s release, saying that he likes Dano a lot.

“I certainly knew enough about Paul and I hope he’d say the same, to know that he’d be somebody I’d know I wanted on my side in a scrap,” Day-Lewis said.

Released in 2007, There Will Be Blood was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It also had Kevin J. O’Connor, Ciaran Hinds, and many others in the lead.