Interview: Paul Dano Discusses ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’ and His Evolution as an Actor

Whenever I talk to Paul Dano, whether it’s for an interview or at an event when we cross paths in person, I always find him to be introspective and thoughtful. You can see that in the roles he chooses, as well as in what he chose to make his directorial debut with (Wildlife was the film, which he co-wrote with partner Zoe Kazan). So, when a project catches his attention, it also catches mine. In the case of his latest movie, The Wizard of the Kremlin, it also afforded him a rare opportunity to take on a lead role, which he embraced with one of his best performances to date (I even ranked the best of Dano here). With the flick hitting theaters, I recently had a chance to get on Zoom for another chat with the man. Today, that discussion comes your way.

In my review here from earlier in the week, I said the following about Dano’s work:

Paul Dano and Jude Law are both quite good, with the former getting a rare leading role, while the latter gives layers to what could have been a caricature. Dano also takes his fictionalized character and adds the complexity that never makes him feel out of place. It would be easy to have Baranov seem like a writer’s creation, though Dano allows him to fit in. You see the moments where he has doubts about what he’s doing, and you believe Dano, too.

Below, you can see my conversation with Dano. While we did talk a bit about his beloved New York Knicks (calling back to a chat we had years ago during the press day for Ruby Sparks, actually), the thrust of things is obviously The Wizard of the Kremlin. Now, our prior talks did factor into a bit about his evolution as an actor and the roles he takes on, as he once remarked that he’d love to kick ass in an action flick (Looper sort of scratched that itch, in a way), as well as how being a father affects his choices, but his new film is the focus. The Wizard of the Kremlin is a very solid movie, with some of his best work yet, so definitely give it a look this weekend.

Here now is my interview with The Wizard of the Kremlin star Paul Dano. Enjoy:

The Wizard of the Kremlin is now playing!