Matt Reeves backs Paul Dano amid Quentin Tarantino criticism

Matt Reeves is stepping in with his own firsthand praise for Paul Dano after Quentin Tarantino sparked debate over the actor’s performance in There Will Be Blood. 

Days after Tarantino’s comments went viral, Reeves publicly backed Dano on X, writing, “Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.” Reeves directed Dano as the Riddler in the 2022 hit The Batman.

Tarantino’s remarks came during his appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where he ranked his top films of the 21st century. He placed Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 drama at no 5 but said the movie “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,” Tarantino said, arguing that the film’s dynamic was meant to be “a two-hander” yet “it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander. … He is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister.”

Dano has worked with a long list of acclaimed directors, including Steven Spielberg and Denis Villeneuve. Tarantino, however, maintained that his issue wasn’t outright poor performance: “I’m not saying he’s giving a terrible performance… I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity [performance]. I don’t care for him. I don’t care for Owen Wilson, I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”

Reeves, meanwhile, is preparing to begin production on The Batman Part II. Scarlett Johansson recently boarded the sequel in a role that remains under wraps.