George Clooney has appeared to hit back at Quentin Tarantino after the renowned director named an actor 'the f***ing weakest' in Hollywood.
Tarantino is behind some of the most beloved movies of our time, from Pulp Fiction to Reservoir Dogs and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
He's collaborated with some of the biggest Hollywood stars of our generation, yet remains outspoken about the performances of those he has never worked with.
During an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast back in December, Tarantino made his dislike for three particular actors perfectly clear.
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He criticized original Scooby-Doo and Scream star Matthew Lillard, The Batman's Paul Dano and Zoolander's Owen Wilson as performers he 'didn't care for'.
Tarantino said he was a huge fan of Dano's 2007 western thriller There Will Be Blood - even ranking it as his fifth favorite movie of the 21st century.
But he slammed Dano as a 'big giant flaw' of the film, going on to call him 'the weakest f****ing actor' in Hollywood.
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On Dano's role in the Paul Thomas-Anderson directed movie, Tarantino commented: "Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, and it’s also so drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander. [Dano] is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister.”
Tarantino continued his tirade, calling Dano 'such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy' and 'the weakest f***ing actor in the Screen Actors Guild', adding he had never enjoyed Dano's performance in anything. Yikes.
He went on: “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.
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"I don’t care for Owen Wilson, I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
That's them told...
Since, Lillard has publicly addressed the criticism, telling GalaxyCon attendees: “Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor. Eh, whatever. Who gives a s**t."
Most recently, Hollywood heavyweight George Clooney defended the three leading men while accepting an award for his role in comedy-drama Jay Kelly.
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Giving an acceptance speech at the AARP’s Movies for Grownups awards on Saturday (January 10), Clooney said: “By the way, Paul Dano and Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard, I would be honoured to work with those actors. Honoured.”
The actor, who has recently become a French citizen, then described Jay Kelly as a movie 'made by people who love actors'.
"That’s an important part. People I’ve known most of my life... actually, most of them are actors. I have a great affinity [for them], and I don’t enjoy watching people be cruel," he added.
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“We are living in a time of cruelty,” Clooney concluded. “We don’t need to be adding to it.”
Clooney plays the film's the titular character, a celebrated movie star, opposite Adam Sandler as his devoted manager.
The duo embark on a trip across Europe where they reflect upon their life choices, relationships and the legacies they'll leave behind.
The film was summed up by critics as 'a Hollywood satire that's gentler than one might expect from director Noah Baumbach'.
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UNILAD previously reached out to Tarantino and Dano's representatives for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Hollywood, US News, Film and TV, Entertainment, Quentin Tarantino
Ellie Kemp