Matthew Lillard told Entertainment Weekly that it was “beautiful” to see fans and industry figures supporting him after director Quentin Tarantino publicly dissed him last year, along with fellow actors Paul Dano and Owen Wilson. In a viral interview on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast last fall, Tarantino slammed Dano as “the weakest shitty actor in SAG” and added that he “doesn’t care” about Lillard or Wilson.
“It was like living my own wake,” Lillard said of social media posts praising his career in response to Tarantino’s comments. “Rest in Peace emails and tweets and Instagram posts and TikToks, everything you see after someone passes away is so sweet. And the truth is, I got to experience it all firsthand. I got to live and thrive! I can’t imagine a nicer response to what happened.”
“It’s been crazy. I keep showing it to my wife and convincing her that I have value and that people still like me,” Lillard added. “No one has to like me. Of course, not everyone has to like every actor out there. It’s a personal preference. I’m obviously not everyone’s first choice, but it was beautiful to have that reaction.”
Many of Lillard’s former Hollywood collaborators took to social media to defend Tarantino after his comments went viral. Mike Flanagan, who directed Lillard on “The Life of Chuck” and also cast him in the upcoming “Carrie” reboot, called Lillard “a great person.” James Gunn worked with Lillard on the movie Scooby-Doo and calls him “one of my favorite guys (and actors).” George Clooney accepted an award from AARP earlier this year, saying he would be “a pleasure to work with” any actor Tarantino dissed.
Dano similarly received widespread support from fans and industry insiders. Dano told Variety that he was “really happy” to see such a reaction, adding, “I was also very grateful that I didn’t have to do it because the world spoke up on my behalf.”
Lillard originally weighed in on Tarantino’s comments while speaking at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio. “Who cares,” he said, but acknowledged, “It hurts feelings. It sucks. And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to a leading actor in Hollywood.”
