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Kristen Anzelc
Dave Gordon
Drew Williams
Storm Santos
There was one phone call Matthew Lillard wanted to make while filming the original Scream—to wish his mother a happy birthday. He approached director Wes Craven, seated beside producer Marianne Maddalena, to use the only phone on set. The two had been discussing Lillard's future, and Craven told him they believed he'd someday win an Academy Award. "I thought, well I have to tell my mom that now when I call," Lillard recalled. Instead, Craven picked up the phone himself. "Ms. Lillard, this is Wes Craven. I just want to tell you someday your son's going to win an Academy Award." Three decades later, Lillard still carries that moment with him, a reminder that someone he deeply respected believed in him.
Lillard has spent much of his career playing characters who couldn't be more different. He was Stu Macher, one of the original Ghostface killers in Scream, before bringing Shaggy Rogers to life in Scooby-Doo. His credits also include She's All That, Good Girls and Five Nights at Freddy's, to name a few. Now he's appearing in Mike Flanagan's Carrie, amid what he calls a "weird resurgence" of fan interest in his earlier roles. It's an unexpected description for an actor whose characters have remained familiar to audiences, even during the quieter periods of his career.
In the just-released Carrie, Lillard plays the school's principal, a role that grew out of his friendship with Flanagan. They first met through a mutual friend and ended up talking for three hours over lunch, mostly about their kids and Dungeons & Dragons. "I didn't know the stakes were this high when I met him," Lillard joked. "If I would have known how high they were when we had lunch, I probably would have dressed better." Flanagan promised they'd work together someday. Lillard had heard that in Hollywood before: "If I had a dollar for every time somebody said to me, 'We're going to work together,' I'd be a very rich man."
“Mike Flanagan does not make mistakes.”
But Flanagan kept his word, offering him a small part in The Life of Chuck despite its limited budget. Lillard, who'd fallen in love with Midnight Mass after their lunch, accepted immediately and became part of the "Flannifam," Flanagan's circle of recurring collaborators. The director told him he'd call whenever he had a part in mind, and that turning down one offer wouldn't rule out another. Lillard points out that directors and stars sometimes develop long-running partnerships, but "normal blue-collar working actors don't really have that." "Choice is the ultimate luxury as an actor," he said. For Lillard, the opportunity to work with a filmmaker he admires matters more than the size of the role. "If I want to be in your world, I don't care about the size. I'm in."
That relationship brought Lillard into Stephen King's world with Carrie, a story famously adapted by Brian De Palma in 1976 with Sissy Spacek. "The De Palma film is iconic and everyone loves it," he said. "You don't do Carrie again unless Mike Flanagan has an amazing reason to do it." Lillard explained that Flanagan was inspired by a story about an anonymous social-media account that caused turmoil in a Southern California community. The series explores how bullying can follow a teenager home, long after the school day ends. "Bullying has changed” in the five decades since King wrote the book, he said.
Filming Carrie’s infamous prom scene required about two weeks of overnight shoots in Vancouver, with around 200 extras, long hours and elaborate effects. One unexpected challenge was the crown on Carrie's head. "The biggest problem is the crown kept coming off," he explained, recalling how the blood drop knocked it from Summer H. Howell's head. But his lasting impression was of Howell herself, who endured days covered in fake blood without complaint. "I've never seen an actor of any age sort of go through that process with zero complaining," he said.
As for the series' open-ended finale, Lillard assures viewers that the ambiguity is intentional. "Mike Flanagan does not make mistakes," he said.
This December marks 30 years since Scream introduced Ghostface to the world. "I don't think that anyone in that moment realized that we were making an iconic movie," Lillard recalled. "I think that we all just sort of assumed we were making another horror movie." When original Scream writer Kevin Williamson called about Scream 7, Lillard stepped away from a business conversation to answer the call. Hearing the invitation, "I literally looked at the sky," he remembered. "Oh my God, I couldn't be more excited."
“I don't think that anyone in that moment realized that we were making an iconic movie.”
Lillard is also finding a new generation of fans through Five Nights at Freddy's, where he plays William Afton. The second film brought his former Scream co-star Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis, into the franchise. Lillard confirms that the script for the third film is in the works.
Outside Hollywood, Lillard has found another creative outlet. With four close friends, he co-founded Beadle & Grimm's, creating premium Dungeons & Dragons accessories. It gave him a new challenge and the chance to build something of his own between acting jobs. "The hard part about acting is waiting for the next acting job," he said. "That's what kills actors."
“It's about the impact you have on other people and your ability to impact people in a very short amount of time.”
Initially, Lillard handled much of the day-to-day work while his four partners continued working their full-time jobs. As the company grew, it became successful enough for all four to leave those jobs and focus on the business. With his friends now managing daily operations, Lillard found himself with less to do. "I kind of became obsolete," he recalled. Around that time, another friend approached him with an idea: could they apply the same approach to whiskey, creating products for passionate fan communities?
The answer was Find Familiar Spirits. Rather than competing with every whiskey or vodka on a liquor-store shelf, the company develops products specifically for communities passionate about gaming and horror. An early whiskey release generated enough interest to convince Lillard there was an audience for the concept. "We're like, 'Oh yeah, there's a business here,'" he said.
One release draws directly from Lillard's Scream history: Ghost Face Vodka. Through a licensing partnership with Fun World, the company developed a potato vodka imported from Germany. "I know firsthand the power of the IP that is Ghostface," Lillard says. An initial release of 10,000 units sold out in an hour and 20 minutes, according to him.
"I think I used to think fandom was about me," Lillard admitted, recalling when a larger following seemed to promise more influence in Hollywood. "I'm 56 years old. You don't have to Google it," he joked. Now his focus is on the people who approach him. "It’s become really clear that it's not about me at all. It's about the impact you have on other people and your ability to impact people in a very short amount of time."
Craven's encouragement stayed with him through the slower stretches of his career. "You have to hold on to moments that keep you connected to the journey," he said. "That's one of those stories that I keep in my heart." He wishes Craven, who died in 2015, could see how Scream continues to resonate with generations of fans.
“You have to hold on to moments that keep you connected to the journey.”
After all, we don't just remember Matthew Lillard's characters; we remember who we were when we first loved them. Thirty years after Wes Craven saw something special in a young actor on the set of Scream, Matthew Lillard has built a career that extends far beyond any single role.
Matthew Lillard can currently be seen in Mike Flanagan's Carrie, now streaming on Prime Video. To learn more about his businesses, visit Find Familiar Spirits and Beadle & Grimm's.
At the time of the interview, Lillard confirmed that Ghost Face Vodka and its blood orange variation were available through Total Wine & More in the U.S., while Quest's End whiskey was available to order in Alberta, Canada. Availability may vary.
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