Actor Matthew Lillard hit back at director Quentin Tarantino after the famous filmmaker said he doesn’t like Lillard as an actor. The comment quickly went viral and sparked a heated response from the star. Lillard talked about the situation at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio.
According to People, he was responding to what Tarantino said on December 2 during the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. The 62-year-old director simply stated, “I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”When Lillard brought up the comment at GalaxyCon, the crowd immediately booed loudly. The Scream star first tried to brush it off, saying, “Yeah, whatever. Who gives a s***.” But then he admitted that hearing something like that in public still hurts.
“Listen, the point is that it hurts your feelings. It f***ing sucks,” Lillard told the audience. He then made an important point about how Hollywood treats different levels of stars. He said Tarantino would never say something so harsh to a bigger name. “And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise,” he pointed out. “You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.”
Lillard calls out the unfair treatment of less famous actors
Tarantino made his harsh comment while talking about his top 10 movies of the 21st century. The director of Reservoir Dogs criticized Lillard even though he didn’t mention any of Lillard’s movies on that list. Tarantino has previously revealed which of his films he considers his masterpiece, showing he’s not shy about sharing strong opinions.
He also went after other actors during the same podcast. He called Paul Dano “the weakest male actor in SAG” while discussing the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood. Tarantino also said he “really can’t stand” Owen Wilson. The director’s harsh comments about these actors sparked backlash from people defending them.
Matthew Lillard reacts to Quentin Tarantino's comments about him
— Culture Crave
"Quentin Tarantino says he doesn't like me as an actor … it hurts your feelings, it fucking sucks, and he wouldn't say that to Tom Cruise … or a top-line actor … I'm very popular with [my fans] and not very… pic.twitter.com/C1b8zx4HkB(@CultureCrave) December 6, 2025
Lillard opened up about where he stands in Hollywood. He said that while he’s “very popular in this room” with fans, he’s “not very popular in Hollywood.” He added, “Two totally different microcosms, right? And so, you know, it’s humbling, and it hurts.” Someone in the crowd yelled out, “We love you,” which made Lillard smile.
Matthew Lillard is easy to love. That’s it. That’s the tweet. One person not liking him will never change that. Quentin Tarantino can shove it
— TV & Movie Addict#QuentinTarantino #matthewlillard pic.twitter.com/CBbQ1Dimuo
(@TVMovieAddict) December 6, 2025
Lillard is known for playing Stu Macher in the first Scream movie and Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo films. He also appeared in The Descendants and Five Nights at Freddy’s. He’s coming back to play Stu Macher again in Scream 7, which comes out on February 27.
He told People in September that the decision wasn’t easy. He was nervous about “ruining how people consider Stu” if his performance was “lame” or “suck[ed].” He hasn’t watched the final version yet. “I don’t know if it works, but it’s a risk,” he said. “And it’s a risk that I was excited to take.”
