Paul Dano

Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career on Broadway before making his film debut in ''The Newcomers'' (2000). He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in '' L.I.E.'' (2001) and received accolades for his role as Dwayne Hoover in '' Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). For his dual roles as Paul and Eli Sunday in Paul Thomas Anderson's ''There Will Be Blood'' (2007), he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Since the 2010s, Dano has received accolades for roles such as John Tibeats in ''12 Years a Slave'' (2013), Alex Jones in '' Prisoners'' (2013), and Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson in '' Love & Mercy'' (2014), the last of which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also played Edward Nashton / The Riddler in '' The Batman'' (2022) and Burt Fabelman in '' The Fabelmans'' (2022).

Dano made his directorial debut with the drama film ''Wildlife'' (2018), based on the novel by Richard Ford. He co-wrote the screenplay with his partner Zoe Kazan. In 2018, he starred in the Showtime miniseries '' Escape at Dannemora'', for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

Early life

Dano was born in New York City, New York, the son of Gladys ('' née'' Pipp), a homemaker, and Paul A. Dano, a financial advisor. He has a younger sister named Sarah. Dano spent the first few years of his childhood in New York City and initially attended the Browning School. While he was a child, Dano's family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, finally settling in Wilton, Connecticut. Dano continued his education at Wilton High School, graduating in 2002 and attending Eugene Lang College in New York City. He was involved in community theater, and while he was performing in New Canaan, his parents were encouraged to take him to New York.

Career

2000s

Dano made his Broadway debut at age twelve in John Tillinger's revival of '' Inherit the Wind'' alongside George C. Scott and Charles Durning. He appeared in an episode of the sitcom ''Smart Guy'' and had a minor role in the 2000 family drama '' The Newcomers''. He played the part of Patrick Whalen in several episodes of ''The Sopranos'' (season 4).

Dano acted in his first major film role when he was sixteen, playing Howie Blitzer, a teenage boy who becomes involved with a middle-aged ephebophile ( Brian Cox) in '' L.I.E.'' (2001). He then appeared in the television film ''Too Young to Be a Dad'' as a high school student whose life is disrupted when his girlfriend becomes pregnant. He appeared in '' The Emperor's Club'' in 2002 as Martin Blythe. In 2004, he played a small role as young Martin Asher in '' Taking Lives'' with Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. Additionally, Dano starred in the sleeper hit ''The Girl Next Door'', alongside Elisha Cuthbert, Emile Hirsch, and Chris Marquette. In 2005, he played supporting roles in '' The King'' and ''The Ballad of Jack and Rose''.

He came to greater attention in 2006, when he played Dwayne, a voluntarily mute teenager as part of an ensemble in the comedic drama '' Little Miss Sunshine'', which received critical acclaim and collective awards for its cast. He also had a supporting role in the 2006 film '' Fast Food Nation'', based on the nonfiction book by Eric Schlosser. Dano had a dual role for the 2007 period film ''There Will Be Blood'', which earned him positive reviews and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. ''Texas Monthly'' said that his performance was "so electric that the movie sags whenever he's not around." Peter Travers remarked "All praise to the baby-faced Dano...for bringing sly cunning and unexpected ferocity to Plainview's most formidable opponent." ''Rolling Stone'' magazine included Dano in its Hot List for 2007, calling his performance style "Daniel Day-Lewis + Billy Crudup × Johnny Depp."

Dano appeared in several additional Broadway productions including '' A Thousand Clowns'' at the Roundabout Theatre, and in the Ethan Hawke directorial debut ''Things We Want'' during its 2007 Off-Broadway run.

In 2008, he starred in '' Gigantic'', a poorly-reviewed film about a man seeking to adopt a Chinese baby, co-starring Zooey Deschanel. He reunited with Brian Cox in 2009's '' Good Heart'', a low-budget English-language Icelandic film. He provided the voice of one of the creatures in the film adaptation of '' Where the Wild Things Are'' (2009).

2010s

He played a genius inventor in 2010's ''Knight and Day'', an action thriller starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The same year he appeared in '' Meek's Cutoff'', a well-reviewed historical drama. In 2011, he had a supporting role in the big-budget science fiction film '' Cowboys and Aliens''.

Dano appeared in three feature films in 2012: '' Ruby Sparks'', as a writer whose fictional character (played by Zoe Kazan, the film's writer and Dano's partner) inexplicably appears as a real person; time-travel thriller ''Looper'', in a supporting role with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis; and with Robert De Niro in ''Being Flynn'' as the film's writer Nick Flynn, about his relationship with his father. In 2013, Dano appeared in Steve McQueen's period drama biopic ''12 Years a Slave'', based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup. Dano portrayed John Tibeats, an overseer at the plantation Northup is sold to. The film was a massive critical success and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among numerous other awards.

In 2014, Dano played a younger version of the Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, with John Cusack as an older version of Wilson, in the biopic '' Love & Mercy'', for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2015, Dano appeared with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in the Italian comedy-drama ''Youth''; Dano portrayed Jimmy Tree, an actor who is researching for an upcoming role but is frustrated that he is best-remembered by the public for a prior role as a robot. In January 2016, Dano appeared as Pierre Bezukhov in the BBC
...