Matthew Lillard Reacts To Quentin Tarantino’s “Humbling” Criticism Of His Acting: “It Hurts”

After Quentin Tarantino shared his criticism of several actors, one such performer is speaking up.

Matthew Lillard recently admitted “it hurts” after the 2x Oscar-winning director mentioned “I don’t care for” the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 actor’s onscreen abilities, along with Paul Dano and Owen Wilson.

“Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor. Eh, whatever. Who gives a s***,” he told fans while speaking at GalaxyCon in Columbus, Ohio, eliciting support from the audience.

“Listen, the point is that hurts your feelings. It f***in’ sucks,” added Lillard. “And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.”

Noting his popularity among fans of movies like Scream (1996), Scooby-Doo (2002), Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) and more, Lillard explained, “I’m very popular in this room. I’m not very popular in Hollywood. Two totally different microcosms, right? And so, you know, it’s humbling, and it hurts.”

Lillard’s comments come after Tarantino included him in his rant about Dano’s performance in There Will Be Blood (2007), which he called “a big, giant flaw” in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie.

“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, but it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander,” he said. “[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest f***ing actor in SAG [laughs].”

Tarantino added, “I don’t care for [Dano], I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”