Matthew Lillard doesn’t appreciate being targeted by Quentin Tarantino.
The “Scream” actor, 55, responded to the famed director’s recent viral comments on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast,” in which he said, “I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
“Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor,” Lillard said at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio, over the weekend as the audience booed.
Matthew Lillard speaks onstage at New York Comic Con 2025. Getty Images for ReedPop
Quentin Tarantino attends the Burbank International Film Festival Gala on Sept. 28. Getty Images“Eh, whatever. Who gives a s–t,” the “Scooby-Doo” actor added.
But Lillard admitted that Tarantino’s comments offended him.
“It hurts your feelings. It f–king sucks,” he said. “And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.
“I’m very popular in this room. I’m not very popular in Hollywood,” Lillard went on. “Two totally different microcosms, right? And so, you know, it’s humbling, and it hurts.”
Matthew Lillard and Rose McGowan in “Scream.” Miramax/Kobal / Shutterstock
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Freddie Prinze Jr. in “Scooby-Doo.” ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Matthew Lillard in “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” ©Universal/Courtesy Everett CollectionDuring the Dec. 2 episode of “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast,” Tarantino, 62, took aim at multiple actors.
“I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard,” Tarantino stated.
Quentin Tarantino at the Vista Theater in Hollywood on Nov. 19. Getty Images for Epic Games
Matthew Lillard at the Blumfest panel during New York Comic Con 2025. Getty Images for ReedPopBut the “Kill Bill” filmmaker went after Paul Dano the hardest, attacking his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood.”
“He is weak sauce, man. He’s a weak sister,” Tarantino said, adding that Daniel Day-Lewis overshadows Dano in the film and that Austin Butler would have been better in Dano’s role.
“He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy,” Tarantino continued. “Daniel Day-Lewis shows that he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander and it’s not!”
Paul Dano attends “The Wizard of the Kremlin” at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival. Getty Images
Paul Dano attends the “Spaceman” premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. Getty Images“You put him with the weakest f–king actor in SAG?” Tarantino said. “The limpest d–k in the world?”
Numerous Hollywood stars have come out in support of Dano over Tarantino’s comments.
“Paul Dano is f–king brilliant,” Ben Stiller wrote on X.
“idk man i think paul dano is an incredible actor,” added Marvel star Simu Liu.
Paul Dano in “There Will Be Blood.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionDano’s “The Batman” director Matt Reeves tweeted, “Paul Dano is an incredible actor, and an incredible person.”
“Paul Dano and I played brother and sister in THERE WILL BE BLOOD. His incredible performance speaks for itself,” said Colleen Foy.
“I sat behind Quentin Tarantino at the Cast & Crew screening and he was legit vibing with Paul’s performance,” she added. “His recent comments are incongruent with his reaction that night.”
