‘The Fabelmans’ star Paul Dano reveals the emotional connections he made in portraying a version of Steven Spielberg’s father
. It’s a deeply personal film following Sammy — a proxy for the young Spielberg — a Jewish American boy who, after discovering a shocking family secret, uses his filmmaking dreams to explore the truth about himself and the world around him via the power of movies. In the film, Paul Dano plays Sammy’s father, Burt Fabelman, the fictional version of Spielberg’s father Arnold, a groundbreaking electrical engineer.
DEADLINE: There’s a lot of discourse about how Burt’s personality could be interpreted as passive, especially in how he handles the affair between Mitzi and his best friend, Benny. It’s interesting that Burt and Sammy don’t ever confront each other about Mitzi, either. How did you interpret Burt’s position as a family man yourself?: I always felt like he was somebody who felt deeply but didn’t always know how to express it.
We all had so many incredible resources on set, like, Steven’s family archives had 8mm footage that he shot as a kid, his family photographs and home video. And Arnold was an important figure in the world of computer engineering, so there’s a lot of information about him that you can find. He also served in World War II, and there was some longhe’d done talking to veterans, so there was just a lot of take-in.
DEADLINE: Throughout the film, Burt insinuates that Sammy’s passion for making movies should take the backburner to something more practical. How much do you relate to Sammy in that way? When did you start to take yourself seriously as an artist?: My parents supported my acting, but I think I’ve always been a bit more of a tortoise than a hare. I remember being young and having that desire to succeed. I remember going to audition after audition and what it felt like to get or not get a part.
DEADLINE: Having now worked with such esteemed directors and in such a wide variety of genres, these days how do you choose what films and roles you sign up for? What exactly wins the Paul Dano stamp of approval?: Well, I never know what I want to do next until it comes. So, the example of going fromis just that I feel so lucky that I would get to do something so different. And it’s what made me excited about acting when I was young and watching other actors.
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