Matthew Lillard Says Outpouring of Support After Tarantino Dig Was Like ‘Living Through Your Own Wake’

Matthew Lillard felt like he was watching his own wake when the Internet started reacting to Quentin Tarantino’s comments about him.

While talking to Entertainment Weekly, Lillard looked back to when Tarantino made comments about him and Paul Dano while on Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast. The positive outcry in support of both the actors surprised Lillard but felt sweet – if a little odd.

“It was like living through your own wake,” Lillard said. “All those R.I.P. emails or tweets and Instagram posts and TikToks, all of the things we see after somebody passes are so sweet. And the reality is I just got to live through all of it firsthand – alive and kicking! I can’t imagine a more lovely reaction to what happened.”

While on the podcast in 2025, the “Pulp Fiction” slammed a number of actors he wasn’t a fan of. He said Dano was “the weakest male actor in SAG.” He decided to add that “I really can’t stand Owen Wilson” and “I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”

Past and present collaborators went to bat for Lillard almost immediately. James Gunn, who wrote “Scooby-Doo,” called him “one of my favorite guys (and actors).” Mike Flanagan worked with Lillard on 2025’s “The Life of Chuck” and enjoyed the experience so much he cast him in his upcoming “Carrie” adaptation for Prime Video. The writer/director said Lillard was “the goddamn greatest.”

“It was crazy. I keep showing it to my wife to convince her that I am worthy, that people still like me,” Lillard said. “I am a piece of ass!”

He added: “Nobody has to like me. Nobody has to like any actor out there, obviously. It’s personal preference. I am not everyone’s first choice, that is obvious, but to then have that kind of reaction was beautiful.”

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