Age: 42
male
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. Dano has also received accolades for roles such as John Tibeats in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Alex Jones in Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners (2013). His acting portrayal of musician Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy (2014) earned him a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor. 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. In 2022, he played Edward Nashton / The Riddler in The Batman.
The film follows flamboyant producer Mario Kassar (Oscar Isaac) and his pragmatic partner Andrew Vajna (Adrien Brody), two outsiders who gamble everything on First Blood and launch Rambo into cultural legend. As Carolco’s star rises, they attract megastars and visionaries: Sylvester Stallone (Sebastian Stan), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Alexander Skarsgård), Sharon Stone (Florence Pugh), and James Cameron (Jake Gyllenhaal), who delivers the most expensive film ever made, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Directors like Paul Verhoeven (Rami Malek) and Adrian Lyne (Ralph Fiennes) push boundaries with provocative thrillers, while action icons like Jean-Claude Van Damme (Édgar Ramírez) and Dolph Lundgren (Alexander Ludwig) turn Cannes into a circus. But ambition spirals into excess. Carolco stakes everything on the lavish pirate epic Cutthroat Island, helmed by Renny Harlin (Joel Kinnaman) and starring Geena Davis (Jessica Chastain) and Matthew Modine (Austin Butler). What begins as a dream project descends into chaos, exploding budgets, and career-shattering fallout. As Hollywood looks on, Carolco becomes both a cautionary tale and a legend — a reminder that the brightest flames burn out the fastest.
