Paul Dano

Having started his career on stage and screen as a child actor, Paul Dano quickly rose to stardom channeling the frustrations of adolescent awkwardness in a number of supporting turns before later graduating to more eclectic adult roles. Following attention-grabbing turns in films like "L.I.E." (2001) and "The Girl Next Door" (2004), Dano stole the show as an unhappy teenager taking a vow of silence while dealing with his dysfunctional family on a road trip in the indie darling "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006). His performance as the good-hearted, but withdrawn Dwayne was singled out by critics, allowing him to expand his horizons. He did just that when he delivered an excellent supporting performance as a fire-and-brimstone preacher opposite Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (2007). Dano went on to voice Alexander in "Where the Wild Things Are" (2009), before playing a variety of off-beat characters in a string of indies like "Gigantic" (2008), "Taking Woodstock" (2009), "The Good Heart" (2009) and "The Extra Man" (2010). Not one to be pigeonholed, Dano entered the blockbuster arena with supporting roles in "Knight and Day" (2010) and "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011). He returned to the indie fold as the star of co-star, writer and girlfriend Zoe Kazan's much-buzzed about romantic comedy "Ruby Sparks" (2012), which further demonstrated Dano's ability to continually surprise critics and fans with his diversity of choices.