Last December, Quentin Tarantino sat down on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast and said, “I don’t care for Owen Wilson, I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.” Four days later, at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio, Lillard told fans what that felt like: “It hurts your feelings. It f—in’ sucks.”
He went further later, calling the stretch of criticism “like living through your own wake.”
Hollywood pushed back. George Clooney said he’d “be honored to work with those actors. Honored!” James Gunn posted photos of Lillard, calling him “one of my favorite guys (and actors)” for “no reason.”
Lillard said colleagues who’ve worked with him recognize his range, yet he doesn’t think Hollywood sees him as a leading man, even though audiences show up for him. When Tommy DiDario asked on the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast whether Lillard felt valued by the industry, Lillard answered, “No. Not really.”
Then came the part Lillard didn’t have to wait for. After working on The Life of Chuck, director Mike Flanagan told him, “You’re now in the Flanafam,” and, “I have a part for you in ‘Carrie.’”
That part is Principal Henry Grayle, a character earlier screen versions of Carrie left offscreen entirely. Flanagan’s series on Prime Video gives him the job, and it gives Lillard a familiar exit: Grayle is electrocuted at the prom, a nod to the way Lillard’s Stu Macher died in Scream.
“I get to get electrocuted again!” Lillard told him.
