"Ouch! That’s SUPER harsh!": Perez Hilton reacts after Quentin Tarantino calls Paul Dano the "weakest f**king actor" in Hollywood

Perez Hilton has reacted to Quentin Tarantino's scathing comments about Paul Dano's acting in There Will Be Blood. The director labeled him the "weakest f**king actor", claiming that the film would've been better without him.

Quentin Tarantino appeared on the latest episode of Bret Easton Ellis' podcast and spoke about some of the great films of this century. He put There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, as his fifth favorite. He first praised the film and lauded Anderson's abilities. However, slamming Paul Dano, he said:

“[The film] 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. 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. [Paul] is such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest f**king actor in [the Screen Actors Guild].”

Blogger Perez Hilton reacted to this statement on his website, writing:

"Ouch! That’s SUPER harsh! And rare to see such a blatant attack from one artist against another in 2025!"

Paul Dano played the roles of Eli and Sunday in There Will Be Blood, which also starred Daniel Day-Lewis and was released on December 26, 2007.

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Quentin Tarantino named actor who could've replaced Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood

"Nouvelle Vague" (New Wave) Red Carpet - The 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival (Image Source: Getty)

The Kill Bill director didn't just stop at labeling Paul Dano a weak actor. He named the actor, who he believes would've done a better job in There Will Be Blood alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. Quentin Tarantino said:

"Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn't need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn't need anything."

"I am not saying he [Dano] is giving a terrible performance, I am saying he's giving a non-entity performance. I don't care for him."

Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis had backed Dano in 2008, labeling him a promising actor and saying in an interview with the BBC:

"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. I like him so much as a man—which always helps—but as an actor I think he's undoubtedly one of the most promising young actors working at the moment."

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Celebrities come out in support of Paul Dano after Quentin Tarantino's comments

Many Hollywood actors have expressed their support for Dano via social media. They hailed him as a great actor, as caught by Perez Hilton.

Reese Witherspoon wrote on Threads:

“Paul Dano is an incredibly gifted , versatile actor. More importantly, he is a gentleman.”

Meanwhile, Paul Feig wrote:

“Call me old fashioned but I don’t believe artists should criticize other artists publicly. And for the record, Paul Dano is an amazing actor.”

Ben Stiller wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Paul Dano is f**king brilliant"

Ben Stiller

@BenStiller

Paul Dano is f-ing brilliant

The likes of John Cusack, Matt Reeves, and Simu Liu also shared their support for the The Batman actor.

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