Quentin Tarantino has never been afraid to share his opinions. The critically acclaimed filmmaker is no stranger to taking risks when it comes to movies, but he may have rattled a fan base in December 2025 when he openly criticized Paul Dano and his performance in There Will Be Blood opposite Daniel Day-Lewis.
After calling Paul a “weak” actor, Quentin raised a lot of eyebrows across Hollywood, as many wondered if he and the Little Miss Sunshine actor have beef.
Here, News47.us breaks down everything we know about Quentin and Paul’s working relationship.
In a December 2025 appearance on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast,” the Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood director was asked about his top 10 favorite movies. He said the 2007 film There Will Be Blood was his fifth favorite, but that it would have been his first or second choice had Paul not starred in the project.
Quentin called Paul the “big, giant flaw” of There Will Be Blood, which was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. He compared Paul’s performance to Daniel’s.
“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander,” Quentin said, referring to Daniel and Paul’s scenes together. “[Paul] is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister.”
The Pulp Fiction director said that Austin Butler — who starred in Quentin’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood — “would have been wonderful” in Paul’s dual role as twins Paul and Eli Sunday, adding that Paul is “just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy.
