At a Glance
- George Clooney publicly defended Paul Dano, Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard after Quentin Tarantino called them “weak” and “uninteresting”
- Clooney told the AARP Movies for Grownups crowd he would be “honored” to work with the three actors
- “We’re living in a time of cruelty, and we don’t need to be adding to it,” the 64-year-old star said
- Why it matters: The rare Hollywood-on-Hollywood clash spotlights how public criticism of fellow actors can quickly become industry-wide controversy
George Clooney used his Best Actor acceptance speech at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards to push back against Quentin Tarantino’s recent dismissal of several prominent performers, turning the Saturday-night ceremony into a forum for industry solidarity.
The actor, honored for his role in Jay Kelly, devoted part of his remarks to praising Paul Dano, Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard-each singled out by Tarantino in December as actors he “doesn’t care for.”
Clooney’s On-Stage Defense
After noting that Jay Kelly is “about … and made by people who love actors,” Clooney told the audience he dislikes seeing “people be cruel to actors.”
“By the way, Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard? I would be honored to work with those actors. Honored!” he said.
He then broadened the point:
- “We’re living in a time of cruelty, and we don’t need to be adding to it.”
- “It’s gonna be a long, tough couple of years, but we’ll all get through it together, okay?”
Tarantino’s Original Comments
The director made the remarks during a December episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast while listing his favorite 21st-century films.
Speaking about Paul Dano’s performance in 2007’s There Will Be Blood, Tarantino called the actor “such a weak, uninteresting guy” and labeled him “the weakest male actor in the Screen Actors Guild.”
He added:
- Owen Wilson‘s turn in 2011’s Midnight in Paris did nothing for him
- He simply doesn’t “care for” Matthew Lillard
“I’m not saying he’s giving a terrible performance,” Tarantino clarified about Dano. “I’m saying he’s giving a non-entity [performance]. I don’t care for him. I don’t care for Owen Wilson, I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
Industry Support Rolls In
Clooney joins a wave of performers and filmmakers who have rallied to the actors’ defense since the podcast clip surfaced.
Public supporters include:
- Ben Stiller
- Simu Liu
- Matt Reeves, who directed Dano in The Batman
- Josh Gad
- Alec Baldwin, who posted a short Instagram video: “I just want to say I love Paul Dano. And if you don’t love Paul Dano, shh.”
Clooney’s Full Speech
In addition to defending his peers, the Oscar winner joked about aging and thanked Jay Kelly collaborators Laura Dern and Adam Sandler.
“We have been family ever since then,” he said of Dern, recalling their first project together, 1983’s Grizzly II: Revenge.
The ceremony took place January 10, where Clooney collected the Best Actor prize for the topical drama.
Key Takeaways
- A single podcast critique from a high-profile director has snowballed into an industry-wide conversation about civility among artists
- Clooney’s remarks illustrate how quickly public criticism can trigger public defense in Hollywood circles
- The exchange underscores the ongoing debate over separating performance assessment from personal attacks in entertainment commentary
