Paul Dano

Paul Dano (birthname: Paul Franklin Dano) is an actor-director who has worked with several world-class directors in notable roles, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Bong Joon-ho, Richard Linklater, Ang Lee, Paolo Sorrentino, Denis Villeneuve, and Steve McQueen.

After working on stage with the likes of George C. Scott and Charles Durning in his Broadway debut in Inherit the Wind at age 12, Dano scored a lead role in his second big-screen appearance in the pedophile-themed drama (slapped with an NC-17 rating, but released an unrated) L.I.E. (2001), opposite Brian Cox, and winning Dano the Best Debut Performance award from the Independent Spirit Awards.

Dano was part of the ensemble of the Michael Hoffman-directed prep school drama, The Emperor’s Club (2002), with Kevin Kline, Steven Culp, Embeth Davidtz, Edward Herrmann, Emile Hirsch, Rob Morrow, and Harris Yulin, followed by a supporting role (the teen version of the adult serial killer played by Ethan Hawke) in Taking Lives (2004).

Dano joined Hirsch again in the rom-com, The Girl Next Door (2004), starring Elisha Cuthbert and Timothy Olyphant, and then had a significant career turn in his first of two shared screen appearances with Daniel Day-Lewis in writer-director Rebecca Miller’s The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), with Catherine Keener and Camilla Belle, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

Paul Dano further solidified his profile as an interesting face in American indie cinema with his co-starring role in writer-director James Marsh’s The King (2005), with Gael Garcia Bernal, William Hurt, and Laura Harring, premiering in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. The first true hit in which Dano appeared was the Fox Searchlight box-office smash, Little Miss Sunshine (2006), whose Sundance premiere set off a bidding war, resulting in the $8 million production grossing a remarkable $101 million worldwide.

Paul Dano continued to build his indie cred with a supporting role in writer-director Richard Linklater’s topical drama, Fast Food Nation (2006), based on Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction book, with Patricia Arquette, Greg Kinnear, Ashley Johnson, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, and Ethan Hawke, and premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Dano burst into the center stage of American cinema with his extraordinary performance as Paul Sunday opposite Daniel Day-Lewis (and culminating in one of the most memorable closing mano a mano sequences in recent film history) in Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful California oil saga, There Will Be Blood (2007), with Kevin J. O’Connor and Ciaran Hinds, winning the Silver Bear Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival and a near Best Actor sweep for Day-Lewis, and earning triple ($76 million globally) its $25 million price tag.

Dano either starred or played support in a string of relatively minor or poorly performing indie films between 2008 and 2010 (including Gigantic (2008), Ang Lee’s disappointing Taking Woodstock (2009), and writers-directors Shari Springer Berman’s and Robert Pulcini’s The Extra Man (2010)), until co-starring in Kelly Reichardt’s remarkable Western, Meek’s Cutoff (2010), starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, Zoe Kazan, and Will Patton, earning strong reviews though underwhelming box office.

One of the first studio releases for the indie-centric Dano was the James Mangold-directed action comedy, Knight and Day (2010), starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, with Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis, more than doubling ($262 million gross) its $117 budget. Dano continued in the studio blockbuster vein with the high-concept Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys & Aliens (2011), starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell, which proved a commercial disappointment, earning only $175 million.

Dano co-starred opposite Robert De Niro in writer-director Paul Weitz’s drama, Being Flynn (2012), with Julianne Moore, Olivia Thirlby, Lili Taylor, and Wes Studi, followed by Dano starring and executive producing his life partner and co-star Zoe Kazan’s script, Ruby Sparks (2012), with Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, and Elliott Gould, earning $9 million for distributor Fox Searchlight.

Paul Dano’s work diversified further in 2012 in his supporting role in writer-director Rian Johnson’s commercial and critical sci-fi hit, Looper (2012), starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Jeff Daniels, earning nearly six times ($176.5 million) gross over expenses ($30 million). Dano once again served as lead actor and executive producer for a low-budget indie film, writer-director So Yong Kim’s fine drama, For Ellen (2012), launched at both Sundance and Berlin and featuring Jon Heder, Jena Malone, and Dakota Johnson.

Dano joined the large ensemble of Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning (Best Picture, Screenplay, Supporting Actress) 12 Years a Slave (2013), with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Alfre Woodard, and Paul Giamatti, grossing a remarkable $188 million worldwide. Dano worked with another strong ensemble in another studio production in director Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners (2013), starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, and Melissa Leo, topping $122 million global gross.

Dano summoned up one of his finest screen performances to date with the co-starring role of Beach Boys maestro Brian Wilson in producer-director Bill Pohlad’s biopic, Love & Mercy (2014), with John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks, and Paul Giamatti, earning a surprising three times (just under $30 million gross) expenses.

In his first European film production, Paul Dano co-starred in Paolo Sorrentino’s first English-language work, Youth (2015), with Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, and Jane Fonda, earning a healthy $24 million, followed by the extremely different, manically absurdist movie by the filmmaking duo, The Daniels, Swiss Army Man (2016), co-starring Daniel Radcliffe (as a bloated corpse) and grossing a modest $6 million after its Sundance Film Festival premiere. Inspired by Dano’s own band, writer-director Bong Joon-ho wrote a role for him in his whimsical adventure (and commercial failure), Okja (2017), with Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yuen, Gyllenhaal, and Giancarlo Esposito.

After a project in which he contributed an off-screen voice in the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring remake, The Guilty (2021), directed by Antoine Fuqua, Paul Dano appeared in a prominent role (as The Riddler) in writer-director Matt Reeves’ impressive revisionist superhero epic, The Batman (2022), starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, and Andy Serkis, topping $770 million in global gross for Warners and DC Films.

For the first time, Dano acted under Steven Spielberg’s direction (creating Spielberg’s slightly fictionalized father) in The Fabelmans (2022), starring Michelle Williams, Gabriel LaBelle, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch, winning the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Dano co-starred with Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, and Isabella Rossellini in the sci-fi adventure, Spaceman (2023), directed by Chornobyl (2019) director Johan Renck, followed by Dano scoring the starring role in the Craig Gillespie-directed movie adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s GameStop non-fiction book, Dumb Money (date to be announced), with fellow cast mates Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, and Pete Davidson.