Ben Stiller to Daniel Day-Lewis, celebrities who supported Paul Dano following Quentin Tarantino criticism as actor expresses gratitude

Critically acclaimed actor Paul Dano, widely known for his versatility and his roles in both big-budget blockbusters and independent movies, has finally broken his silence following the Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino's scathing remark about him being a "weak actor", as per Variety. The 41-year-old actor, Dano, who is married to the Ruby Sparks actress Zoe Kazan, at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, was questioned regarding Tarantino's remarks. Before he could say something, Toni Collette, defending him, said:

"Are we really going there? F*ck that guy! He must’ve been high… it was just confusing. Who does that?"

While Dano never directly responded publicly to Tarantino’s criticism, he told Variety that many people from the film industry spoke up for him. He added that several friends and colleagues reached out to show their support. Dano told Variety:

"That was really nice. I was also incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me so I didn’t have to."

In December 2025, the Reservoir Dogs director, Quentin Tarantino, who is the recipient of two Academy Awards, on one of the episodes of The Brett Easton Ellis Podcast, while discussing the best films of the 21st century, and mentioning Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, took a dig at Paul Dano, and said:

"Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander. But it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander."

As he referenced Daniel Day-Lewis and Dano, Tarantino added:

"[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. [Daniel] is eating him [alive]. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander and it’s not! … you put him with the the weakest fucking actor in SAG? The limpest dick in the world?"

A-listers from Ben Stiller to Daniel Day-Lewis all supported Paul Dano

Following Quentin Tarantino's harsh remarks about Paul Dano and his acting skills, multiple A-listers and well-established artists from Hollywood spoke up and came out in support of The Fabelmans star. Renowned and award-winning actors and filmmakers such as Ben Stiller, Daniel Day-Lewis, Reese Witherspoon, Matt Reeves, Josh Gad, Alec Baldwin, and Collen Foy supported him and spoke up about how amazing he is both as a person and an actor. After Tarantino's comments on Dano, Ben Stiller took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Paul Dano is f***ing brilliant."

While Reese Witherspoon wrote on Threads:

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

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