Our next guest is an Emmy-nominated actor
you know from films such as "Little Miss Sunshine,"
"Wildlife," and "There Will Be Blood."
He stars as the Riddler in "The Batman,"
which is in theaters and IMAX now.
Let's take a look.
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[ Television playing ]
-[ Door opens ] -Police! Hands up!
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-He said put your goddamn hands up, you son of a bitch!
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-I just ordered a slice of pumpkin pie.
-Please welcome back to the show Paul Dano, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ]
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Hello! How are you?
-Yeah. Yeah. I'm well. I'm well.
Your producer just told me
that she had a nightmare about me over the weekend.
-Look at that. -So that was nice.
-Making an impact in people's --
And, by the way, with the news right now,
if you can be the reason someone has a nightmare,
congratulations.
-Ha! Thank you. -You were here last time
talking about a film you directed,
which was a very beautiful film, a film about a family,
and a completely different pace
than what you did here in "The Batman."
-Yeah. So, luckily, that's sort of been,
like, the theme of just how I work.
I was in the edit room doing a sort of quiet family film,
and then I got a script
for this thing called "Escape at Dannemora,"
which was, like, prison, sex, you know, physical.
And I was like, "Great. That's what I need now."
Right? And so then I was on camera for seven months
in a jail cell with Benicio Del Toro.
And after seven months of being on camera, I was like,
"I can't act again. I can't act again."
And this play called "True West" came, which I did on Broadway,
and that sort of reinvigorated, you know, whatever I needed.
And then after doing a play, which was not for profit,
"The Batman" came, and I was like --
You know, and so it's just sort of follow the energy.
And I play, you know,
an interesting character in "The Batman."
And the next film I have coming out in the fall
is Steven Spielberg's new film,
and I play, like, a beautiful, kind man,
and I'm just so thankful after...
after doing the Riddler,
that that was then the next thing that came my way.
So we'll see. -You know, you talked --
This is a deeply dark character.
And even by the standards of the Riddler,
this is a very dark take.
Your wife, Zoe, is obviously in show business, as well.
She must understand what you have to do as an actor.
With that said, is it easy for you to leave a job
like that at home when you come home?
-Uh, I mean, I'm so scared to talk about it in public
because, like, the Internet, like, they --
People, like, pick up on what you say and it's --
It can kind of get blown out of proportion.
But I don't know if you had the experience doing "SNL,"
like, where you've got all this energy
going toward Saturday night.
-Yeah. -And the stakes are high.
And it's adrenaline.
And it's -- You know, and then after the show,
you can't just, like, go to bed, right?
-Yeah, we rock out.
-I mean, in your case, you guys get to go rock out.
Now, I didn't rock out after a long day of shooting,
but it takes a while to come down.
-Yes. -Right? So that's all.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-That's a very good way of putting it.
Now, at least you, I would imagine,
leave your wardrobe at work.
Because this was a terrifying take on the Riddler,
which included wrapping your head in Saran wrap.
-Yeah, so, I've been asked, you know,
what did you take from the set to remember this job by?
And I'm like, "Nothing. Nothing."
-Well, Saran wrap, you could take
because it's just helpful in the kitchen.
-Well, you know, they actually don't want me talking about
Saran wrap, Seth. -Oh, interesting.
-I think I have to say cling wrap.
They don't want to be associated --
-Well, the problem is,
I have a deal with Saran wrap, personally.
-Oh, you do? Well, this is a real conflict of --
-It's a very awkward moment. -They might drop ya.
They might drop ya after this one.
-I'm sorry I keep saying it. This is very bad.
Oh, boy, oh, boy.
But it was -- One of the things I read
is that this version of the Riddler is a serial killer
and that the Zodiac Killer was actually one of the --
Is this something you came up with, with the director?
-Yeah, so, that's something Matt Reeves,
who's just wonderful and I loved working with him,
cited in the beginning.
So when you get the phone call, the Riddler, Batman, it's like,
"Oh, my God. That's so exciting."
And then when he says "Zodiac Killer," you go, "Okay."
You know, it's like, okay, that's, like,
a much more sort of real... -Right.
That's not question marks on a green suit.
-Yes, from the comic book.
So it actually was the kind of thing where --
especially now that I'm a parent, like,
a lot of my research for this
I did during the daytime at coffee shops
because I just didn't want those books, like, next to my bed.
-Yeah. -Do you know?
So it was -- -You also don't want them
next to the bed because your kids are like,
"What are these serial-killer books for?"
And you say, "Research."
[ Laughter ]
-Yes. Yes.
-"Daddy has a job to do." -Yeah.
[ Laughter ] Oh, God.
Someday I'll be faced with that.
-"It's just hard 'cause it's so political
breaking into it as a job.
You gotta know somebody."
[ Laughter ]
But you also are a reader of comics.
So it must be cool to -- You know,
I grew up reading comic books and still do,
and I just imagine being a part of something like this,
which is being taken so seriously
and treated like art, must be a blast.
-It's the best bit of homework.
And my character has a particular fascination
with The Batman in the film.
And so I just devoured Batman comics
the whole time we were shooting.
It was just a way to sort of keep it in my system.
But, yeah, going back to being a kid,
I used to collect some comics.
I was -- I was more of an X-Men kid.
-Okay. That's -- We appreciate your honesty.
-But now I'm, like, Batman superfan.
I mean -- And, really, I am. I just -- I love it.
-I heard you name-drop "Court of Owls"
in an interview, which is a great book.
-Dude, that is one of my favorites.
-That's when I knew you were the real deal.
I was like, "Look at you. Alright, yeah."
-Yeah, that one's really good.
It's just -- I mean, I have to say
that being a part of that culture,
it's not something I anticipated liking.
I feel like I'm kind of a shy person.
But I love the Batman fans
and I've loved sharing this film with them.
So -- Including the comic-book world.
So that's been really fun.
-I want to ask -- you know, obviously,
you've got Robert Pattinson walking around in the suit.
Colin Farrell, you know -- much has been made
of his transformation as the Penguin.
Did you ever -- Was it ever jarring
when you saw your co-stars on set?
-Well, I was jealous of Colin
because the makeup was so incredible.
And I was like, "That's not fair."
-Yeah. -You know?
-Because you had to wear cling wrap.
-Yeah. Nice.
-Yeah. I think we're back in business.
-And the clip that we showed
was one of my favorite nights of filming
just because seeing The Batman out the window, I just...
This is, like, a moment.
Like, you know -- And for me it was, too.
For the character, it was.
Being on our backlot, which they built, you know,
this L train, an elevated train,
with the streets of Gotham, seeing Rob,
seeing Colin, seeing Zoe Kravitz,
I mean, it was really --
It's definitely, like,
one of the coolest experiences I've had.
-Well, I will say personally, being a fan of yours,
when you hear a cast like this and a director like this,
it's very exciting as a viewer to say,
"Oh, these are the kind of people
that are gonna take good care of this."
And you guys really did. Congratulations.
Thanks so much for being here. It's always a pleasure.
-Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. -Paul Dano, everybody.
"The Batman" is in theaters and IMAX now.