Who would have thought that the teen actor from The Emperor’s Club and The Girl Next Door would have gone on to become the face of a generation? The weird thing is I’m not even discussing Emile Hirsch, but instead Paul Dano, who was featured in these films even less significantly. Slated to be The Riddler in the 2021 Batman film by Matt Reeves, Dano is about to become a thousand times more popular than he already is. How well do you know this thespian? If you’re into indie films or critically acclaimed festival works of the last two decades, chances are you already know Paul Dano exceptionally well. If not, we’d like to get you caught up on his thirty sixth birthday. Here are five films for newcomers to the works of Paul Dano.

5. Ruby Sparks
Playing a writer lacking inspiration who channels his frustrations and loneliness into a romantic partner he can create from scratch, Paul Dano turns Zoe Kazan’s incredibly complexed author into an entire palette of emotions (ranging from sympathetic, to cringe worthy, to narcissistic). Kazan and Dano are together in real life, so seeing them bounce off one another in Ruby Sparks (with the screenplay Kazan wrote) is a real treat.

4. Wildlife
Shortly afterwards, Dano tried his hand at filmmaking with Wildlife: an underrated indie work of wonder (he also co-wrote the screenplay with Zoe Kazan). This coming-of-age drama is hard hitting yet tender, and a massive starting point for Dano as a director. A huge festival circuit name, Wildlife is a bittersweet film that is guaranteed to still leave an impact. We can only hope to see more work from him in the director’s chair.

3. Little Miss Sunshine
For me, the big break for Dano as a bonafide actor was playing the philosophy obsessed teen partaking in a vow of silence during a family meltdown in Little Miss Sunshine. Spending a good portion of the film sans dialogue, Dano renders this perplexing adolescent with much hilarity, but just enough pathos for the gut punches to land. It was here that Dano showcased the range of emotions he could portray with even the fewest devices.

2. Love & Mercy
In a film that puts two massive names into one role (The Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson, performed by Dano and John Cusack at different points in his life), Dano still succeeds with flying colours. His take on the struggling musical mastermind in Love & Mercy is textured with the finer details; seeing Dano perform as the master at work is a treat in its own right. When Dano’s Wilson begins to suffer underneath his mental illnesses and personal problems, it’s devastating to witness. When he crafts a life changing melody like “Surf’s Up”, Dano is breathtaking.

1. There Will Be Blood
To this day, Paul Dano’s omission from the Academy Awards for his work in There Will Be Blood is absolutely mind boggling. Playing Eli Sunday — a hysterical preacher who loses his battle against greed — was the biggest move Dano could have made (let’s not forget he briefly plays twin brother Paul, too). In a role that many other actors would have overacted and missed the mark, Dano prances along the fine line between excessive and frightening, so you never feel completely at ease with Sunday. The fact that Dano often gets supporting roles still saddens me, considering Eli Sunday is the kind of character that would catapult one into a leading role for life (despite Sunday being a supporting character; his work is fantastic enough to transform him, surely). Despite the Academy’s mistake, I can only hope we see Paul Dano operating at this level of excellence again; with the numerous great performances he’s done since, I can only imagine his awards season glory will happen one day.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Paul Dano: Five Films for Newcomers