Paul Franklin Dano ( born June 19, 1984)[2] is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in L.I.E. (2001) and gained wider recognition for playing a troubled teenager in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). For playing identical twins in Paul Thomas Anderson's period drama There Will Be Blood (2007), he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Following supporting roles in such mainstream films as Knight and Day (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), and Looper (2012), Dano had critically acclaimed roles in 12 Years a Slave and Prisoners (both 2013). For his portrayal of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy (2014), he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2018, he starred as a convicted murderer in the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. In 2022, he played The Riddler in The Batman and a caring father in The Fabelmans, receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for the latter.
Dano made his directorial debut with the drama film Wildlife (2018), which he also co-wrote with his partner, Zoe Kazan. He has also written the comic book The Riddler: Year One (2022). On Broadway theatre, Dano has starred in productions of A Free Man of Color (2010–2011) and True West (2019).
