Poor Things Director Says We 'Don't Have To Pile On' Quentin Tarantino After Those Shots He Took At Paul Dano's Acting

Paul Dano is truly a very gifted actor who has blown us away with his performances. Overall, his work, including the time he played multiple roles in There Will Be Blood, has been praised. However, Quentin Tarantino made waves when he slammed the actor’s work in the Paul Thomas Anderson flick, calling him “weak sauce.” Now, Poor Things' Yorgos Lanthimos has offered his take on the controversial moment, saying we “don’t have to pile on” the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

On The Louis Theroux Podcast, Poor Things filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos touched on how Quentin Tarantino will not only see anything in theaters, but say anything too. After the podcast host brought up the Pulp Fiction director taking shots at Paul Dano's acting on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, the Greek director decided not to “pile on” Tarantino for this particular reason:

The Favourite director makes a fair point. Many celebrities have defended Paul Dano, like The Batman’s Matt Reeves, who called him “an incredible actor,” and Ciarán Hinds, who found “creativity” in Dano playing two parts in There Will Be Blood.

Paul Dano’s performance in There Will Be Blood truly was powerful, unsettling, and very worthy of applause. We saw him first introduced in the period drama as the rationalist Paul Sunday, who drives the movie into motion by tipping Daniel Plainview on an oil deposit. This brings Daniel to meet Paul’s twin brother Eli, who is a frantic preacher involved in a power struggle against Daniel. Seeing the contrast Dano brought in his two characters and the transitional range he displayed between them is worth remembering.

However, the Little Miss Sunshine actor being called the “weakest fucking actor in SAG” by Tarantino is the opinion of one filmmaker and not a universal truth. You could argue that Lanthimos's not wanting to focus on the Kill Bill director’s comments is his way of not allowing that critique to define the hard work and energy Paul Dano put into his work or erase the impact of his BAFTA-nominated performance.

Now, rather than Paul Dano adding fuel to the fire about Tarantino’s commentary, his reaction to the filmmaker’s words was more directed at those who were by his side through it all. At the 20th anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine, he said he was “incredibly grateful” people stood up for him so that he wouldn’t have to do that himself. With that kind of support behind him, there’s no reason to allow one harsh comment to outweigh the appreciation he received from those who admired his work.

We can learn from Yorgos Lanthimos in not having to “pile on” Quentin Tarantino or any critic for their negative remarks towards an actor's work. Compared to giving any critic power over their opinion, we can focus instead on the range Dano brings to each of his roles and celebrate all that he’s brought to the big screen.

With all that being said, you can craft your own opinion about this debate by watching There Will Be Blood with a Paramount+ subscription or a Peacock subscription.