Matthew Lillard is opening up after Quentin Tarantino publicly brushed him off as an actor — a comment that, despite his initial tough front, actually hit him hard.
Speaking at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio, Lillard addressed Tarantino’s recent comments on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where the iconic director flat-out said, “I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.” The crowd immediately booed, but Lillard tried to play it cool at first.
“Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor,” Lillard told fans. “Eh, whatever. Who gives a shit.”
But a few moments later, he admitted the remark hit much harder than he first let on: “It hurts your feelings. It fucking sucks […] And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.”
Lillard explained that Tarantino’s comment was a sharp reminder of the difference between how fans see him and how Hollywood does.
“I’m very popular in this room. I’m not very popular in Hollywood,” he said. “Two totally different microcosms, right? And so, you know, it’s humbling, and it hurts.”
The Scream and Scooby-Doo star’s honesty shed light on the insecurities many working actors face, even those adored by audiences. And Tarantino didn’t stop at Lillard. On the same podcast, the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker also threw shots at Paul Dano, calling his performance opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood “weak sauce” and saying Day-Lewis “ate him alive.”
Tarantino even suggested Austin Butler would have delivered a stronger performance, referring to Dano as “the weakest actor in SAG” and “the limpest dick in the world.”
While Tarantino is known for being unapologetically blunt, Lillard’s reaction showed how public criticism — especially from someone as respected as Tarantino — can land differently when you’re not one of Hollywood’s untouchable stars. Still, he navigated it with humor, humility, and honesty, earning even more love from the fans who were cheering him on that day.
