Dillon Freasier

{{Infobox person

| name = Dillon Freasier

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|3|6}}

| birth_place = San Angelo, Texas, U.S.

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 2007

| known_for = There Will Be Blood

}}

Dillon Freasier (born March 6, 1996) is an American former actor. His only film role was in the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.

Career

Freasier was not an actor when chosen for his role in There Will Be Blood. After several failed attempts of casting other actors, Cassandra Kulukundis searched for potential actors in rural schools near Marfa, Texas, the film's primary filming location.{{cite news

|date=December 23, 2007

|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-23-ca-blood23-story.html

|title=A Budding Star is Found in the Lone Star State

|access-date=2008-09-17

| work=The Los Angeles Times

| first=Paul

| last=Lieberman

}} At the Fort Davis school with "maybe eight boys of the right age", Freasier was singled out by his principal. Kulukundis said that "he just stayed in my mind, so I called his mother at home and asked if it was all right if I could come over that night". While racing to another school to see more boys, Kulukundis was pulled over by a traffic cop, who happened to be Freasier's mother, and was let off with a warning.{{cite web

|year=2008

|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2827673/bio

|title=Dillon Freasier - Biography

|website=IMDb

|accessdate=2008-09-17

}}

According to The New York Times, Paul Thomas Anderson "really wanted a kid who'd grown up around ranches and horses rather than someone coming in and trying to fake that".{{cite news

|date=August 27, 2006

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/movies/27join.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

|title=Hollywood Stampedes a Texas Town

|accessdate=2008-09-17

| work=The New York Times

| first=Whitney

| last=Joiner

}}

Christy Lemire, the film critic for the Associated Press, praised Freasier as a "confident newcomer",{{cite news

|year=2008

|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/26/review.blood.ap/index.html

|title='Blood' is a Masterpiece

|accessdate=2008-09-17

|work=CNN

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612071229/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/26/review.blood.ap/index.html

|archivedate=2008-06-12

|url-status=dead

}} and the Los Angeles Times labeled him "a budding star". In a film review published in Christianity Today, political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain called Freasier's performance "astonishing".{{cite web

|date=June 2008

|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/003/2.22.html

|title=There Will Be Brilliance

|accessdate=2008-09-20

}} During his Academy Award acceptance speech for Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis said "I wish my son and my partner H.W. Plainview were up here with me, the mighty Dillon Freasier".{{cite web

|year=2008

|url=http://m.reporternews.com/news/2008/Feb/25/oscar-shout-out-to-dillon-shhh-hes-asleep/

|title=Oscar Shout Out to Dillon

|accessdate=2008-09-18

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715173905/http://m.reporternews.com/news/2008/Feb/25/oscar-shout-out-to-dillon-shhh-hes-asleep/

|archivedate=2011-07-15

}} Freasier, who had decided to skip the Oscars, was asleep at the time. He was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2007 for his role in the film.

Freasier has stated that he is unsure about his career.{{cite web

|date=January 3, 2008

|url=http://m.reporternews.com/news/2008/Jan/03/albany-boy-ok-with-movie-fame/

|title=ReporterNews

|accessdate=2008-09-18

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715173846/http://m.reporternews.com/news/2008/Jan/03/albany-boy-ok-with-movie-fame/

|archivedate=2011-07-15

}} {{failed verification span|text=As of August 2023|date=December 2024|reason=Cited source is from 2008.}}, he has not pursued any more roles.

Personal life

In January 2007, Freasier moved to Albany, Texas with his family, where he attended Albany High School and played football. A rodeo enthusiast, he competed in horse roping and won numerous medals for ranching skills.{{cite web |year=2008 |url=http://www.therewillbeblood.com/ |title=There Will Be Blood official site |accessdate=2008-09-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913123934/http://www.therewillbeblood.com/ |archivedate=2008-09-13 }}