February 8, 2008 Leigh Singer

Paul Dano

As opportunistic clergyman and nemesis to Daniel Day-Lewis’s megalomaniac oilman in There Will Be Blood, young actor Paul Dano (Fast Food Nation, Little Miss Sunshine) makes his mark in a BAFTA-nominated role he only took over after Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic had already started shooting. IGN recently had the opportunity to chat with Dano about working on the critically acclaimed drama.

IGN: There Will Be Blood is anything but a conventional movie. Did the finished version live up to your expectations?

Paul Dano: One thing I love about Paul [Thomas Anderson]’s movies in general is that they always do something unexpected for me. I’m never really sure what I’m going to get out of them, especially after I saw Punchdrunk Love a few years ago; it’s a romantic comedy for Christ’s sake! A lot of people didn’t like that film but I loved it. I think I like [There Will Be Blood] better than I thought it might have turned out. It’s epic but it’s also so focused at the same time. For me, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of wasted tangents. Paul really did an amazing job.

IGN: What do you think makes him such a good director?

Dano: Firstly, he clearly writes great characters and wonderful dialogue for his actors and loves working with actors, I think you can tell that straight away from his movies. Not all directors are actually like that. Honestly, he’s a ballsy filmmaker and is willing to take some risks with what he does. He’s doing it more for himself than anyone else and there’s an integrity to that I enjoy a lot, and that’s something I wanted to be a part of.

IGN: Originally, you were cast in the small role of preacher Eli’s brother. So how did you end up playing Eli, and presumably replacing another actor who they’d already cast and started shooting with?

Dano: The Paul Sunday part was a small part in the beginning of the film so I went down there to do that. And then for whatever reason, a reason I don’t actually know, and don’t want to know really, it’s not important anyway – there was a change of plans and I ended up doing the Eli part. And Paul [T.A] said, “OK, let’s just make them twins,” and I said OK. I sort of had to throw myself into a pretty challenging part in a pretty insignificant amount of time.

IGN: How long?

Dano: Three or four days.

IGN: Did you have any reservations stepping in at the last minute?

Dano: No, not really, but not in any sort of arrogance. I knew that if I was going to do the part that I didn’t have the time to get intimidated or get nervous. I had to sort of go in and really not look back and second-guess myself and run with my primal and animal instincts above all else. There were probably some good things that came out of not having to get in my head about it too much.

IGN: What did you make of Eli? He’s quite an ambiguous character.

Dano: I’m not going to reveal too specifically because it’s always interesting when people aren’t sure how pious or how manipulative he is, but certainly I think Eli is quite the actor. He’s largely playing a part, but I don’t think that’s all conscious. I think this person that he’s created has become a part of him really. So the line between sincerity and insincerity is sort of blurred, or at least something he doesn’t want to look too closely at.

IGN: Obviously, your role means going head-to-head with Daniel Day-Lewis. Although you’ve worked with him before on The Ballad of Jack and Rose, isn’t that still hugely intimidating?

Dano: It wasn’t on this at all. I think having the previous experience with him was invaluable to me, and also getting to know him a bit as a person before helped put aside any of that. Truthfully, when we were on set he doesn’t give you much of a chance to think like that because I was looking at Daniel Plainview and not Daniel Day-Lewis. It’s pretty astonishing what he does.

IGN: The full-on, never-breaking-character ‘Method’ approach?

Dano: Daniel is… (chuckles) very committed. I think there’s a slight misunderstanding with it – a lot of people think it’s abnormal to do, only because most people simply don’t have the willpower to match that level of commitment. But when you see it, it makes perfect sense and seems like the best way to do it. It’s something special not something weird. It’s not a turn-off. It’s a turn-on and something to engage with and have fun with, something to give back to him.

IGN: So do you feel you’ve ever actually met “Daniel Day-Lewis”?

Dano: Sure, now I’m seeing Daniel, I’m seeing Daniel Day-Lewis. And he’s a sweet-natured guy. I think we both find it amusing, the fact that we’ve worked together twice and not gotten along in both films. I think there’s something ironic about it.

IGN: Does his style of working appeal to you? For Little Miss Sunshine, where your character Dwayne doesn’t speak, apparently you tried that out with your family for two days.

Dano: Yeah, I gave it a shot with my family and it was really tough. You know, family can say one thing that shoots into you and reminds you of twenty years of those kind of comments and not being able to defend yourself or respond and say, “Are you crazy?” The self-control that that takes is really something. I gained a lot of respect for that character.

IGN: With Sunshine and now There Will Be Blood, are you prepared to have the glare of Hollywood on you?

Dano: I just don’t have any interest in that world so there’s really nothing to report. I mean, I live in New York, none of my friends are really actors. I go down to the dive bar around the corner when I go out. I don’t go to the showbiz parties. I’m still a fairly low-key guy.

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The published article can be read on IGN – ‘Interview:Paul Dano’