Matthew Lillard
American actor known for Scream, Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy's
Matthew Lillard (American actor known for Scream, Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy's) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Carrie (2026 TV series), Actor compensation in Hollywood, Five Nights at Freddy's (film).
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Carrie (2026 TV series)
Lillard recounts Flanagan's pitch to King that social media offered a new way to tell the story that the 1970s versions could not anticipate.
“And when you wrote this back in the 70s, and De Palma shot it in the 70s, nobody could know what the scourge of social media would be”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 38:23
Lillard says the cast unusually had every script in hand before production began.
“along comes the next script. When we signed up, we had all eight scripts”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 15:12
Lillard argues Samantha Sloyan is among the best working actors and has been overlooked.
“this woman is literally one of the best actors working today, and has been for a long time, just nobody sees it”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 12:31
Lillard says Summer H. Howell was chosen for the lead role after auditions of 1,400 candidates.
“the woman that plays Carrie, her name's Summer H. Howell, and she is, uh, they auditioned 1,400 girls”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 10:16
Actor compensation in Hollywood
Lillard recounts resetting his life by selling his house and firing his representatives.
“I fired my agent, my lawyer and my manager in three consecutive phone calls”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:39:38
Lillard discloses he was paid modestly for Scream despite its later success.
“Scream, like we worked for four weeks and I got paid $5,000 a week”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:38:10
Lillard says the industry now prioritizes profit margins over quality, squeezing supporting actors.
“our industry, especially now, is more interested in making a higher margin than they are making a good movie”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:36:58
Five Nights at Freddy's (film)
Lillard describes Five Nights at Freddy's as a major commercial hit.
“it's a $30 million movie that made $300 million”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:19:21
Lillard says the director persuaded him to take a small role by framing William Afton as the franchise's central villain across three films.
“But he is the Voldemort of this universe. And we want to make three movies”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:17:56
Lillard argues that no film villain believes they are evil; each must have a motive.
“No, I don't believe anyone in the history of films believes they're evil”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:48
Scream (1996 film)
Lillard explains he embraces the 'first husbands of horror' label to support struggling LGBTQ youth.
“if for some reason us calling ourselves the first husbands of horror makes an impact, it makes them feel seen and empowers them”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:10:15
Lillard recounts that Scream faced shutdown until the opening sequence was rushed to Miramax.
“they rushed and shot that sequence, opening sequence, and then sent it to Miramax. And they kept the movie alive”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:00:37
Lillard argues that removing any member of Scream's cast might have caused the film to fail.
“the crazy thing about it, I think if you take any of those people out in terms of the casting, the movie may”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 59:05
Fame
Lillard apologizes to an influencer he snapped at during the Scream 7 premiere.
“So if that young lady's out there, I apologize. I was a dick”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 50:22
Lillard says he is experiencing a career resurgence and is more popular than ever.
“I'm having this crazy resurgence in my career as an actor and my popularity. I've never been more popular”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 47:40
Lillard says he was long jealous of his former roommate Paul Rudd's success, which harmed his mental health.
“But I was, for the longest time, so jealous of his success”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 23:30
Stephen King adaptations
Lillard hopes King will use his influence to get The Dark Tower adapted despite fragmented rights.
“my hope is that as Stephen King gets older, that he will want to see the Dark Tower made”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 43:56
Lillard says Stephen King watched the full Carrie series twice.
“He watched it twice through. Which is such a huge compliment”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 38:57
Thir13en Ghosts
Lillard argues Hollywood undervalues the popularity of his cult films, limiting his career.
“I think it's because Hollywood doesn't understand how popular Scooby-Doo is, how popular 13 Ghosts is, how popular SLC Punk is”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:27:22
Dungeons & Dragons
Lillard says he has played Dungeons & Dragons with the same acting-school friends for decades.
“we have been playing since I was 21, and I'm 56 years old”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 53:40
Other remarks
Lillard argues that self-deprecating talk is harmful because it sticks.
“It doesn't serve you at all, because the bullshit you say to yourself sticks”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 26:48
Social media and adolescent mental health
Lillard says an anonymous social media post is the pivot point of the new Carrie's story.
“Once this social media, anonymous social media post goes up, the whole story changes”
Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 33:50
Appearances
Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew LillardMorbid · Oct 5, 2026 · 1 h 52 min
Actor Matthew Lillard joins Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart to discuss Mike Flanagan's Carrie, Scream, Five Nights at Freddy's, his career and Dungeons & Dragons.
Discussed in
- The Haunting of Lemp Mansion
Morbid · Oct 8, 2026 · 47 min
Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount the rise and fall of St. Louis's Lemp brewing dynasty, its string of suicides, and the alleged haunting of Lemp Mansion.
Often appears with
- Alaina Urquhart · 1 shared episode
- Ash Kelley · 1 shared episode