People Are Jumping to Paul Dano’s Defense Because He’s Worth It

I’ve preached about the beauty and mastery in The Fabelmans for some time now. It’s an incredible piece of filmmaking in which one of our greatest directors gives us an inside (albeit dramatized) look at what it was like growing up in his family. The story is complex, nuanced, and human, showing us a family that was torn apart and how that affected the children. It is full of great performances, led by the incredible Michelle Williams, but Paul Dano ain’t no slouch.

Dano plays the family patriarch, who is a fictionalized stand-in for Steven Spielberg’s father. The man is quite conservative, but caring, and watches as his free-spirited wife finds love in his best friend. But he doesn’t get angry or have any of the standard reactions you may expect from a drama with that kind of storyline. Instead, he moves in with his son, Sammy, to help him make his dreams come true in Hollywood. He works hard to keep the family a unit, even if they aren’t together.

To say that Dano excels in this role would be an understatement. He brings a level of melancholy and empathy to it, giving us a man who would rather uproot his whole life than have his children blame his wife for the family splitting up. It could easily be a nothing part in the hands of a lesser actor, but Dano brings an incredible level of realism to it. Were it not for Judd Hirsch’s scene-stealing performance, which the Oscars love, I think Dano would have received much more award love.

So, I was pretty incensed to hear that Quentin Tarantino, who has turned into a professional podcast guest, was dragging Dano’s name through the mud recently. He called Dano the worst actor in SAG or some such nonsense, and also took shots at Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard. It was dumb as hell, and, luckily, met with complete resistance from anyone who has seen Dano crush it before (which is anyone who has seen him in a movie). On top of that, people in the industry are speaking out in his defense.

Simu Liu hopped on Twitter to say, “idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor.” So, he supports good actors and abhors capital letters. Mattson Tomlin, who co-wrote the upcoming sequel to The Batman, wrote, “I am really pleased to see so many people cheer on Paul Dano this week. Not only is he a terrific actor, but he’s an astonishing director who exudes control and tremendous empathy. Check out WILDLIFE if you haven’t seen it.” And he’s doing that while his movie is facing a… significant shakeup.

To Tomlin’s point, people who aren’t in the industry have been defending Dano as well, because he is an incredible actor. Luckily, to that end, this won’t affect him. It will be remembered as one of the many stupid things Tarantino has said over his career, and that’s a pretty long list, so it may not even take up much real estate. Dano is a generational talent, as is ole Quentin, but firing off shots at incredible actors while regularly tooting your own horn so hard it might fall off just makes you look like a jerk. But hey, if the shoe fits (Tarantino will be pissed cause you gotta let them piggies free).