Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of the 21st century. Director Quentin Tarantino has also mentioned it in his latest list of top twenty films of the century. However, there is a reason why it does not rank at the top of his list: Paul Dano. In a recent conversation with the The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino criticised Dano's performance in There Will Be Blood as a young man who forms a close relationship with the Daniel Day-Lewis character. "It’s supposed to be a two-hander, but Dano is weak sauce, man... He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy," said Tarantino. Despite Tarantino's criticism, Dano's performance in the film is generally appreciated by reviewers and audiences alike. They have praised the actor's ability to hold his own in front of a towering performer such as Day-Lewis.

It is a performance that also won Paul Dano a 2007 BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In the same year, the actor also earned an award in the Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture category for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards). However, Tarantino dismissed Dano's merit to win the aforementioned recognition by suggesting that he is the "weakest" actor to achieve the same in the award show's history.

Meanwhile, netizens have reacted strongly to Quentin Tarantino's criticism of Paul Dano, with some claiming that the latter has rejected offers from the former and others sarcastically arguing that the filmmaker owes money to the actor. At the same time, some have also bright up Tarantino's dislike for Batman and suggested that this explains why it has also spilled over to Dano, known for his role in Matt Reeve's most recent adaptation of the DC Comics character.