{"id":390033,"date":"2026-04-09T15:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390033\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:21:08","slug":"paul-dano-nobody-needs-to-know-about-my-high-school-band-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390033\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Dano: \u2018Nobody needs to know about my high-school band!\u2019 | Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

You were wonderful as Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy. Did you get any feedback from the great man himself? Fran2016<\/a> and Aubrey26<\/a>
Thank you. I spent a bunch of time with Brian before filming. If you asked him about the world, you might only get a little bit out of him. But if you asked about music, he\u2019d light up. I loved talking with him. I also got to sing with him and his touring band a few times, which was amazing. We filmed in the studio in which they recorded Pet Sounds, and he came on set, which was a trip. I didn\u2019t get much feedback in terms of my performance \u2013 it was more getting to know each other and learning about his life.<\/p>\n

Which was more challenging in Little Miss Sunshine \u2013 the first half where you don\u2019t speak, or the second half where you break your vow of silence? mattyjj<\/a>
I remember the first few days, filming the dinner table scene where they\u2019re eating chicken and I don\u2019t speak. It felt like the directors were saying: \u201cOK, maybe give us a little more,\u201d because they couldn\u2019t quite see what I was doing. But when they watched it back, they said: \u201cIt\u2019s there, we see it,\u201d which was a wash of relief. It\u2019s a great question, because sometimes the words are harder, but stepping into the unknown of not speaking was pretty challenging.<\/p>\n

Did you read the book before filming the BBC\u2019s War and Peace? nickwayne<\/a> and RDMiller<\/a>
I did. There are some extremely detailed passages, and the epilogue is really interesting. I do think it\u2019s probably the greatest book ever written.<\/p>\n

Did playing the leader of the Animal Liberation Front in Okja [about a teenage girl who raises a genetically modified super-pig] change your relationship to food? gladarvor<\/a>
I\u2019m going to give you the honest, embarrassing answer: it did, but only for a very short time. I was also in Fast Food Nation, which definitely had an impact on my eating habits. But the biggest change in my relationship to food has been [a result of] age, becoming a parent and paying a bit more attention to what I put in my body.<\/p>\n

Dano (left) with Tom Arnold in the BBC adaptation of War and Peace. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc\/Alamy<\/p>\n

What acting habit or preconception have you had to unlearn? angiebutnotjolie<\/a>
I started young \u2013 I did my first Broadway play when I was 10 or 11. One of my favourite things about the job is that you\u2019re always learning, but also unlearning. I\u2019ve always wanted to stay in touch with my intuition \u2013 the part of me that isn\u2019t thinking. If anything, I prepare more now than ever, because you pick up tools and want to keep your curiosity alive. I don\u2019t know if I can name a single thing, but I love the question because you do have to constantly learn and unlearn.<\/p>\n

Some people probably know about your band, Mook \u2013 but could you talk about your high-school band, Cherry Revision? angelsdiewithyou<\/a>
Nobody needs to know about my high-school band, although I appreciate the shoutout. Some of my favourite times have been playing in bands with my friends. Music is still a big part of my life \u2013 if I\u2019m not on camera, I\u2019ll probably have my headphones in. When I was 20, 22, my band meant everything, so there was definitely a bit of me that would have liked to be a rock star. There\u2019s a great Walter Pater quote: \u201cAll art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.\u201d Music gets into your veins faster than anything. But if you want to be good at something, you have to work really hard at it \u2013 there\u2019s only so much time, so acting was the thing for me.<\/p>\n

\u2018So fun\u2019 \u2026 Dano as Hank in Swiss Army Man. Photograph: Blackbird Films\/Allstar<\/p>\n

What was it like working with [film-making duo] the Daniels and Daniel Radcliffe on Swiss Army Man? AntZudan<\/a>
It was so fun. I did that right after doing War and Peace, so I really needed to just go and have fun in the woods and mess around. It\u2019s important to return to your roots sometimes; to make small, creative films with friends. I was already a huge fan of the Daniels\u2019 music videos, so when I got the email saying they had a script, I read it immediately, and was pretty much sold by the end of the second page, when the farting jetski happened.<\/p>\n

In an intense industry, how do you stay kind and grounded? Does it change how you approach difficult characters? naenia<\/a>
I appreciate being thought a kind person. I do think that matters. I love collaboration and I love making friends. Does it help? I think so. Most of us are sensitive people, so I try to find the empathy for my characters, whether they\u2019re \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d. It\u2019s important not to approach them with judgment. Even the Riddler has his own subjective point of view of what he believes in, so I try to find an emotional way into that. There\u2019s always a piece of you in every character, whether you like it or not, so you have to ask: what piece of you is at work, and why are you stoking that flame?<\/p>\n

Which of your characters would you most like to hang out with? catsdogs7<\/a>
I can certainly see some of my teenage friends in Dwayne [in Little Miss Sunshine]. I would hang out with Brian [Wilson] again in a heartbeat. I\u2019d like to hang out with Manny from Swiss Army Man, even though he\u2019s not my character \u2013 but he\u2019s dead, so that would be fun. One character whose life I wish I could improve is my character from Prisoners, just because he\u2019s in such a tragic and sad situation.<\/p>\n

Spinning \u2026 Paul Dano as Putin\u2019s strategist Vadim Baranov in The Wizard of the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

What drew you to The Wizard of the Kremlin? chloemonsterbunnyy<\/a>
Just how compelling, deeply intelligent and relevant it felt \u2013 a story about modern politics and power in a place that we don\u2019t often see behind the curtain of. I think that the writers tried to be as accurate and as truthful as possible. But it is a film \u2013 it\u2019s not a documentary.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give the 10-year-old you? DasGrump<\/a>
I think I would say: have more fun. I started working young and I was a fairly serious kid. There\u2019s a great Aldous Huxley quote: \u201cIt\u2019s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.\u201d I\u2019m able to enjoy my work and my life more now than 20 years ago. So I would say: \u201cHave more fun as a 10-year-old. Play more basketball. Play in your band. Go be with your friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wizard of the Kremlin is in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 April<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You were wonderful as Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy. Did you get any feedback from the great…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-390033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}