James Gunn expresses support for Matthew Lillard amid Quentin Tarantino criticism
James Gunn has expressed support for Matthew Lillard following recent criticism from director Quentin Tarantino.
Tarantino made his critique of Lillard public when he named his top 20 favourite movies of the 21st century while talking with the American Psycho author, Bret Easton Ellis, on his eponymous Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.
The Pulp Fiction director began by criticising Paul Dano, despite listing There Will Be Blood as one of his top five movies of the last 25 years, and labelled him as the “weakest male actor in SAG“.
Tarantino continued, “I don’t care for him, I don’t care for Owen Wilson, and I don’t care for Matthew Lillard.”
Separately, he also highlighted Wilson’s performance in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which he ranked in tenth, for the wrong reasons, remarking, “I really can’t stand Owen Wilson,” before noting, “I spent the first time watching the movie loving it and hating him.”
The three actors have seen huge names from within the industry come to their defence, and now, Gunn can be added to the growing list.
Taking to Threads, Gunn shared three images of himself alongside his friend, which the director captioned, “Just a few photos over the years with one of my favorite guys (and actors), Matthew Lillard. No reason.”
Lillard has already responded to Tarantino’s harsh words. At GalaxyCon in Ohio, he said, “Quentin Tarantino this week said he didn’t like me as an actor. Eh, whatever. Who gives a shit.”
However, despite his initial remarks, Lillard then admitted, “Listen, the point is that hurts your feelings. It fuckin’ sucks. And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to somebody who’s a top-line actor in Hollywood.”
The Scream actor earnestly continued, “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.”
Neither Dano nor Wilson has directly acknowledged Tarantino’s criticism.
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