I was onDrew Barrymorethis morning.
Shes such a sweetheart, so I dont know why.
I was super nervous.
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Not quite the Pumpkin King on a throne of blood and guts, so to speak.
[Laughs], Lillard toldRolling Stone.My mother-in-law is so distraught.
What is it that I dont see that everyone else sees where Im this bad guy all the time?
I amshockedthat I played Shaggy.
From that moment on, Im just the worst white guy in the world [Laughs].
How did the overall concept emerge behind Find Familiar Spirits?
I will never allow us to transact on peoples passions without providing something for them.
Its the most random experience, but Dungeon & Dragons, right?
When we launched withQuests End Whiskey, we built each bottle as a different character in the story.
The character transitions through all 16 of the drops.
I just fell in love with him.
I mean, he is an incredible director, writer, and a fantastic human being.
And hes sober, which I thought may not make sense, but I reached out to him anyway.
To his credit, he jumped at it.
I think from everything he says now that it was a hugely rewarding experience for him.
I know his short story taps into this Edgar Allan Poe-esque style of gothic horror.
Lillard:Thats a great question.
Look, literature is the action of the mind, which is eternally more horrifying.
But theres nothing left to the imagination.
Youre sort of witnessing every ounce of gore there is to present.
What do we have to provide?
Its this new look at these traditional ghost stories.
In a strange way, we sometimes love to be scared.
Why do you think that is?
Lillard:I think that so much of life is us seeking connection to things.
Were on social media, and were hoping that some kind of connection comes back from this fucking phone.
It never does [Laughs].
Its a one way transaction.
But the idea of sitting at a gaming table, the idea of sitting in a dark theater?
Those dopamine hits are real and authentic.
We like to be scared because it gets our pulses racing.
Thats whats so alluring about horror.
Thats something everybody else says.
So not like a Tobin Bell(John Kramer of theSawfranchise)-pop in thing?
Lillard:Yeah, me and Tobin.
Same level [Laughs].
Lillard:I mean, Im having a whole Matthew Lillard 2.0 era happening.
That, is palpable.
I talked about it recently, but Im super grateful for it.
You certainly appreciate it so much on such a deeper level.
Its so funny, you know.
Theminuteyoure like,oh, Im the shit, you immediately wipe out.
Thats when you when you fall the furthest.
But now I love being able to celebrate those things [likeScream].
Not that Im interested in, like, holding on to them so tightly.
But in my entire life, Ive always thought,who cares about what Ive done before?
Lets just get to the next.
Now, as Im older, Im not so interested in the next.
Im really interested in the now.
And so the now of this moment, the now of my career, is really lovely.
Its lovely to walk on set and have people excited that Im there.
Youve describedScreambefore as an acting training ground for you.
Lillard:SLC Punk.
The confidence that movie gave me to carry a film, its super powerful to me.
I want to be the star of every film Ive ever been in.
Its so funny too, because William Afton isanothervillain role for you.
Lillard:Im the most despised person!
My mother-in-law is so distraught.
What is it that I dont see that everyone else sees where Im this bad guy all the time?
I amshockedthat I played Shaggy.
From that moment on, Im just the worst white guy in the world.
I do think, candidly, I have fun acting.
I have a joy about the work I do that I think permeateseverythingI do.
So when Im bad, I love being a bad guy.
You love to hate the bad guy, yeah?
So it is fun.
Lillard:When I was a kid, I never would have done something like this.
I would have been like,oh, this is so fucking below me.
I wouldnt do it.
But look, I like it.
Lillard:And thats the thing!
I dont think enough people talk about how hard it is to sustain a lifetime in the arts.
Its virtually impossible unless you have something else that can sort of help keep you afloat.
So I was excited to take it on, but it also scared me.
I was nervous about being able to do it.
I havent seen it yet, but people seem to like it, which is good.
Thats all I care about.
And she was like, heres my mom and dad to say thank you.
So for me, it was that moment.
The beauty of the job is the idea of being able to impact peoples lives, right?
If you have the ability to see that and use it for good, then its a beautiful thing.
