Talented and creative actor, Paul Dano, was born in New York City and has played a variety of intriguing roles throughout his career. He is best known for his acting roles in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Swiss Army Man (2016), and his most recent part as the Riddler in The Batman (2022). Dano has shown his dedication to a variety of media; he has directed movies (such as Wildlife in 2019), played in an indie band (called Mook), and is even writing a comic book based off of the newly redeveloped Riddler in The Batman franchise. He commits to every role he plays, and when he does something, he puts his whole heart into it.

The Riddler, a traditionally colorful and silly-looking villain, has been reborn to a newer and more relevant character that coincides with the serious, realistic Batman shown in his recent film. While The Batman was directed by Matt Reeves and written by Peter Craig, Paul Dano dedicated himself to reinventing his character, making it his own. He truly took it into his own hands by creating the costume himself and acting for hours despite the heat he experienced in his mask. While the Riddler is just a role to many, people frequently overlook the time and effort that goes into making the unfathomable horrors appear real.

He took the character from nonsensical to human- showing two sides of the same story. While Batman uses his trauma to seek vengeance on those who cause violence directly, the Riddler’s trauma makes him deranged and causes him to confront the underlying corruption in an unorthodox way. Developing their personalities is significant and essential to a character, and Paul Dano’s commitment to storytelling shows his true talent.                                                                                                                                                        

Paul Dano is contributing to the major refreshing of an overtold story in a way never seen before. An upcoming project for Dano, Riddler: Year One, is a comic book retelling the story of Edward Nygma and his descent into criminality before what’s shown in the movie. This book is being written by the actor himself. The dedication to his character is extremely admirable; he is showing a side of a character that has played a small role in the past. 

Outside of The Batman, his work shines just as bright. His performance in Ruby Sparks (2012), a movie about a writer whose character comes to life, infatuated me.  His ability to communicate the characters’ emotions truthfully in any role is impressive to say the least. His performance in thrillers, romance, dramas, comedy, are all acted with the same passion and vigor, despite the range of plots. An actor that can show great emotion in a real way is someone with genuine talent, and it should be recognized in even the most niche actors, like Paul Dano.

While his acting career is what he’s best known for, his band truly stands out to those who already like his films. There is only one real album, but the music is incredibly influential. Unfortunately, people are typically close-minded about his band because of his general invisibility in the media, but it would be nice to see Mook get recognition. Not only is the music itself pleasant to listen to, but the lyrics create a feeling and mood that is different from other songs. Most of their pieces typically include metaphors along with unpleasant imagery; oftentimes about dirty cities, negative emotions, along with anxiety-inducing melodies. They have a very well-rounded sound, with interesting lyrics, talented guitarists, violinists, pianists, interesting rhythms, and soft-spoken singers that contribute to my love for this band.

Understandably, my liking of him seems odd, but his talent truly shines brighter than any other actor. His music is incredibly easy to listen to in any mood that I’m in, and his acting performances always seem to be invigorating.