The Kristian Harloff Show - MATTHEW LILLARD talks Five Nights at Freddy's, Scream, Macabre Spirits and more.

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

MACABRE SPIRITS: https://macabrespirits.com Matthew LILLARD is not only a great actor with performances in scream, the descendants, five nights at Freddy's and moore, he's actually a really funny and good guy. The start of this interview alone is worth watching as Matthew was not happy. He was sitting in a car for a long time to get to the studio. But we got through it, we have a great conversation and again, just a wonderful person. He is here to discuss his, new tequila, macabre spirits that he worked on with many talented people including Mike Flanagan. We talk five nights at Freddy's, scream and a lot more. I hope you enjoy. As always comment and like. #Scream #Scream2#Scream7 #5NightsAtFreddy's #fnaf #5NightsAtFreddy's2 #Horror #DungeonsAndDragons OUR SPONSORS: ROCKET MONEY: Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to http://www.RocketMoney.com/THING AG1: Try AG1 and get a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase at http://www.drinkAG1.com/BIGTHING. That's a $48 value for FREE if you go to drinkAG1.com/BIGTHING BILT:   Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to http://www.joinbilt.com/BIGTHING  

I thought I started Just start the fucking show You started the fucking show Matthew Lillard is here How long does it take To get the

Many Pola Mano Fala Dude at the time You came here though Bro It was always the time I was coming

I know But I couldn't believe That you That was the time you This gentleman Never Never Except this offer

If you were in Manhattan At 2 o'clock That's bad That's why I couldn't believe it So you said though Can suck it to go Fariola I don't know why I wouldn't have to

I literally said can I take a train 100% of it Well It takes from where you Where you would have been It took it I'd go into the city That's why when you said before

You'd fly it I went to the seal last night It took me 35 minutes Uh huh Not today Thank God I have talked to you before You came into Collider And it was 20 the end of 2018

And I was like no He's he's a fun dude I said yeah but doesn't matter how fun Someone is you stick someone in a car for two hours They're gonna need a break So Alright Let me show you this clip

Because this is what happened No it's the last time To my band damn Smart dude Really? Yeah I want to know what the adjective is For me when I leave

What's it gonna be boys Dreammaker. Hug him. There you go. Get on there. Get out there. And there you go. And my fat ass hanging out.

Thanks for coming in, brother, man. I'm glad to be here. Yeah, I'm glad to have you. Tell me about my cop. I want to hear about what's going on because that's,

that's, yeah. Yeah, you started this company a while ago. And, and now, what's your podcast about? Do you just talk about cool things all the time?

Yeah, man. So, like I do, I like to have people in here, like I had on Mark Paul Gossler on today. We talked about some. It's fun, you know, because I had never met him before.

And so we talked about, I was a big state by the bell guy, I said, growing up, but he's got a show on NBC found right now. So I think at first, because I'd never met him before. His big thing, he didn't do, was it, no, he was on Tuts. He was on Franklin and Bash. Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I didn't know what to expect.

So we were talking and it was, yeah, first took him a second to warm up to me, but when he did, we talked about Jitsu, he talked about a bunch of other things. really good dude he's um good buddies with breckermeyer who i adore i love brecklemyer he loves that okay um yeah so you just you're it's a celebrity interview i mean all that i normally when i don't have people on i talk about uh like pop culture movie news and tv stuff and you know just kind of watch what's going on and and we just bullshit every day and then what are you excited about right now um right now i just i mean i'll tell you what my favorite movie the year was oh right now dune two i i think that the dune one

is one of them. Dune 1 is the only movie I've watched since I was a kid four times, five times maybe. So you haven't seen two? I've seen two. I haven't seen, I've re, I now have it on my iPad and now like I'll be on a plane and I'll just throw Dune 2 on.

Yeah. I think it's an incredible, I think it's the scope of that film. I remember where I was when I finished the book. So I love that. I love the whole thing. It's incredible. It's incredible. I think it's incredible.

It just, I don't even, I can't even call it part one in part two. I just, it's like one big, long epic film. Yeah. It's, it's, it's a remarkable achievement. It's a remarkable achievement. And it's also one of those films that the guys, can we get my fat off the TV? I don't know if you can see it. It's not on there anymore.

No, my fat is like hanging in. Nobody needs their man bits hanging out the backside. It's gone. Oh, my God. No one saw that. See? It's all right. I saw it.

And it's nobody. No, I'm throwing up in my mouth. No, it's one of the few movies that my buddies and I would go see together, Dune One. Yeah. And absolutely adored. What's your favorite TV show this year? Man, you know, it's Dark Matter. It was with Jennifer Connolly and Joel Edgerton.

I like the-I like Joel Edgerton a lot. I didn't see the show. I'm kind of fascinated with, like, quantum physics. I don't know shit about it, but I'm fascinated with the idea of multiverses and that stuff, and the way that the way time could potentially work or not work. And so that, to me, surprised me. So that was one of the ones. That's the first one that stands out when you asked me now.

What about yourself? You know, my wife, it is one of my favorite that I'm traveling so much right now. I'm sure. And so one of my favorite things to do is to get into a show with my wife. And so we, we're watching slow horses right now. Everybody raves about that show. It's a simple, simple, it's sort of like an Agatha Christian, in modern-day out of Christi.

I don't know why it's, it's not a mystery, but it's a really well-put-together show. The characters are likable. It's easy to digest. It doesn't really take much. Gary Olman is just like next level. Gary Olman is like my,

he is my hero growing up, but I still adore him as an actor. I think he's an incredible actor. Have you worked with him? No, I've never worked with him. In fact, I've never met him. Oh, wow. I've sort of like, you know, as a kid,

there's so much as an actor, you're like, and I don't know if it happened these days with kids, I'm sure it does in some capacity. But when I was coming up, an actor's actor was something that you revered for the work, for their craft, for their ability to sort of stand out in any film. And he has that in spades as a kid. I mean, you know, Sid Nancy to State of Grace.

I mean, he's just an incredible actor. He's so good. Actually, I did get an opportunity to meet him at the Critics Choice Awards. What a sweetheart of it. Yeah, and that's what everyone says. He's like, so sweet. Great. And then Penguin.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I think that Colin Farrell is like, turns in a performance that is like, I just, I marvel at it when I watch. I'm only in episode two. I love the kid on it. I don't know his name. The African-American kid is incredible. Like, the entire cast is fantastic. The storytelling is remarkable.

It's just an achievement. You know what I mean? And so I'm really enjoying that. I'll tell you that Kristen Miliotti is. is blowing me away on that show. Is she the one that plays? The daughter. Yeah, she's incredible.

She's really, really good. So I've seen, I've seen three. And apparently four is like she, the people are talking to Emmy already for her, performance in four. I've seen it yet though. It's just, I just think the whole things. It's really good.

It's really good. So yeah, those are kind of the things that I'm like watching right now. As far as movies that are coming out, like Saturday night, I had a screening for and I missed it, the Saturday Night movie. And I really wanted to see that one, but I'll check it out.

I just saw smiles two last night. I liked just the first one. Yeah. I don't go to movies. Yeah. I don't see them. I don't go to them.

It's just not my, I don't know. It's not my thing, man. I don't really. People behave terribly in the movie theaters. Well, it's, it is that it's also, it's just like,

I don't know. I just don't enjoy. It's not something I, it's not something my wife and I do if we get a date night. It's so funny that you say that because it's literally the same kind of conversation

I was having with Mark Paul. And we were talking about, like, because if it wasn't for something for my job, I don't think I would do it either. Yeah, yeah. It's be, it's, we have good systems now. We have good sound systems. We have good televisions. We have things. My wife never goes to movies anymore.

Yeah. She's, when I want to watch stuff, like, we'll do eat one of two things now. One, watch it at home. And now I have her on the show with me and we will watch, like, do watch along together. That's good. I do like that. That's fine. Yeah, we spend time together.

That's good. Yeah, but I think we, I miss that, though. I do miss the event sort of thing. I miss going to see. a movie. Like I went all my buddies we went to see Dune. We were just talking about that. The idea of gathering with your friends, being together, talking afterwards.

Like, I think those, I think that's really fantastic. It is. What about concerts and stuff? I'm not a music guy at all. Not a music guy at all. In fact, if you said, like, I have great tickets to blah, blah, bloop-de-bloop. I'd be like, I'm good. So what's your... If you see a musical or a theater,

piece of theater, that's my jam. I will travel to see great theater. What about comedy? Like, stand-up. Comenians and stuff, more so my family and I have a 22 year old daughter, a 20 year old non-binary kid and a 17 year old boy or 16 year old boy. We went through a whole thing like last Christmas where we started smashing stand-up comedian specials. Nate Burgazzi. I literally, he's the only dude. He's the only live ticket I've searched for in like five years.

I want to see this Nate Perkazzi guy. He's, I think he's incredible. That's great. That's so funny. That's also fun that, um, you, you're doing that with your kids too, right? Because like my, I was, I was on my friend's podcast. I'm stand-up comedy was what I did for a long time comedy store and everything. And, um, I was asked on this podcast, like what got me into it.

Not just the standing as George Carlin was a big influence, but my dad used to watch stand of comedy with me all the time, like the one night stands on HBO. And then I would watch the Dangerfield specials like Bill Hicks and all those things. And it was so it's, it means a lot. It stays with your kids. It stays those moments too. Are you naturally funny or did you have to craft your humor? I think a little bit both.

Because when I was doing my stand-up, I went up there just kind of yelling and screaming when I first started, not knowing what to do and then I had to craft. Ladies and gentlemen, at home, if you didn't see it, I kicked the shit out of the cord because I just drove two hours. That's what he said. He said, fuck you and you're two-and-a-hour drive. So, yes.

So I think that I had a friend Paul DiAngelo, who was a Boston comedian. Paul DeAngelo. It's such a great thing. He's a great thing. He's a kid. He's older than us, but he is, he was my mentor in stand-up comedy. And he was Boston guy. And I remember one night because I was like, I'm 21 years old at Dublin.

Remember Dublin? Sure, of course. And so I'm bouncing off the walls. And he goes, he's like, you cannot do that for 10, 15 minutes by the time. But within five years, you will drop. He's like he got it. You can't start at 150 miles an hour. He didn't know where to go.

You can know where to go. So I took that and then I remember I was working for the WWE as a writer and I came back recrafted my whole thing and then do you know Brett Ernst? No. So Brett Ernst, he's on he's on Cobra Chi but he's a he runs like Sebastian and Sam Trippley and those guys but anyway he got me into the comedy store and he's like he saw me performing on Sunset and he's like you've gotten much better listening to that advice and it was so your answer the question is it was crafted through

that I was the class clown, you know, I was not great at school and doing that kind of shit. So, but what are you? Like, you... I think, I mean, just in terms of comedy, I always think it's interesting because, you know, you, I think most people become funny out of self-defense,

right, to protect something. Okay. And so for me, I was an obese kid and learning disabilities, and so I became funny to distract from the fact that I couldn't spell. But when did, so, and did you discover that you were, pretty good at, you know, performing and all that, or you had to say, I guess same question just asked me. Is it like, you have to craft it? Like, when did you start getting into acting? Was that also just, yeah, I mean, look, I was like a 13, I mean, in seventh, in eighth grade,

you know, my dad said to me, you can do a typing class or an acting class. And the idea was that if I did an acting class, you know, that I would be ready to be a salesman, right? I could go out and present myself in front of people. And, you know, that was the, big deal for my dad and then typing obviously you know to fill up reports or whatever the bastard made me typing the next year but

I took acting class. Only kid? No, a younger sister. I took an acting class and it was like the first time in my life that like you know adults and Miss Johnson was my acting teacher and she's like you're good at this and so you know when you're a kid struggling and you're

in the world and you're trying to you know you're awkward teenager like anyone noticing you for something that you're good at was like heaven sure you know and so just put rocket fuel on it and that you know and i and i just kept missing on things and then when i would miss out on a part i would get really pissed yeah and i was like double down oh you're not going to stop me oh i'll show you i'll show you know and so i had this like this relationship with acting where i was like if i didn't get the lead you know i just told the story last night to a group of actors teaching a class. I was like, you know, I didn't get cast in this play Tracers.

And then I went off to another school. I collected a bunch of dudes. We, you know, because everyone could do like a five-minute scene. And I got like all these guys in the class because is that seven-man play. And I was like, let's just put together the first act. Yeah. You know, and we built the first actor tracers because I didn't get cast in that, but then I went and found another way to do it. I was always like, you're not going to stop me. I'm going to find a way to do it. It's funny that you say that you were able to do that like back then, too, because it's, you feel it's almost like easier. Not, yeah, I'll use the word easier. But there's more ways, I should say, to do it now if someone wants to make short films, put themselves on YouTube, put themselves on Instagram, put themselves on TikTok.

There's ways to. There is. Yeah. Absolutely right. The reality is, though, we did not grow up in a world where people are presented what people are offering all the time is like, this is what perfection looks like. Right. Like social media, like if you're a kid right now looking at social media, everything you see is represented as a success. Yeah, that's true. Right. And so you're like, I can't do that. What if I don't achieve what they've achieved? And my whole thing is like,

fuck that, man. It does not serve you in any way, shape, or form. And so, you know, I, while you can produce things easier, right, because you can shoot things on an iPhone, the reality is that there's so much stress to turn around perfection that these kids are inert. They can't sort of, I'm making an old man generalization. I'm not speaking to everyone in the generation, but so many people are inhibited

by this idea of I have to, it has to be perfect, and it also has to forward me. And the whole thing about doing a play is like, you invite your friends and then you do the next play. And then you invite your friends. And then you do the next play. Just by the nature of life theater,

nothing's going to come out of that night other than the work and come, Coming up, it was so much about doing work and collecting hours and just perfecting your craft. And that's just not this. It's not as relevant. It still is relevant today, but there's so many more things. There's more shortcuts. Well, there's more people are worried about a result.

And I'm like, just go do it. Don't worry about it. I agree. 100%. When you're even hearing you talk about that, it reminds me, again, a stand-up comedy. And where when you start the first time you know, people used to ask, you know, How do you know when you got a good act and you're doing this? Like you have to understand.

You have to get up on stage every night. You have to get on stage and you have to, I go, because I always told people, you will look back and you will hate the stuff that you did a year from now. You'll hate it, but you have to keep crafting it. And you have to keep working on it. And I agree. That's why I said, I think there's more shortcuts because it's like you look. And my friend that I was on that podcast said the same thing where even when I got into YouTube and all that stuff,

that was when it started. Nobody knew what you could do. on YouTube. Now it's like people aspire to be YouTubers, TikTokers, Instagram. We didn't know that. We had to, like you said, you had to put the work in on stage and do those things. So I understand completely what you're saying. Let's talk AG1. I love AG1. I had it this morning. I love it. It helps you build a healthy morning routine 60 seconds to get you daily dose of vitamins, minerals, pre-end probiotics, adaptogens, more. And I've been drinking it for, I mean, forever. You can't be part of this show if you haven't heard me talking about AG1. I'm going to, I'm going to

give you a couple of fast facts about AG1 and how it supports your gut health. It contains prebiotics, probiotics, and gut supporting ingredients to support your digestion, reduce, bloating, and keep you regular. In a research study, 80% of participants notice less gas and bloating after 30 days of drinking AG1. For me, I've had a lot of changes since I started to. I sleep better, better gut health, my focus, stress, all of it. It's just great. AG1's powder form makes it easy for your body to digest and access the nutrient-dense ingredients in the formula. I mean, they've been around with us for so long because so many of you guys have been doing it also. You've been getting AG1, you've been checking out, you've been changing your routines, and it's worked.

So if you want to start and notice the difference for yourself, it's a great first step to invest in your health, and that's why they've been a proud partner of mine for so long. Try AG1 and get a free bottle of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs, with your first purchase at drinkag1.com slash big thing. $48 value for free if you go to drinkag1.com slash big thing. Go ahead, check it out. Built. I really hope that people are going to start taking advantage here of built.

Because listen up, renters. If you ever feel like you're stuck in this loop of rent payments, just watching your money vanish into thin air, it is time to turn that rent game around and start earning some serious rewards. And that's where built rewards comes in. You've done that before you've been there. You've been there.

I'm there all the time. I feel like it. It's frustrating. But here's the deal. Built Rewards has figured out a way to make rent more rewarding. You say goodbye to the money bonfire and hello to a renter's revolution with Built. Built is breaking ground as a neighborhood rewards program that hooks you up with points on your rent. Every month, you pay your rent and you watch the built points roll in.

You can use your points to book fitness studio classes, redeem them towards our future rent payment. They're designed to meet your lifestyle. Pay rent, hassle free through the built rewards. app. Your rent game just got a major upgrade. Built points have consistently ranked the highest value point currency by the points guy and bank rate. Earn points by paying rent now when you go to joinbuilt.com slash big thing. That's join built, b-y-l-t.com slash big thing. And make sure to use our URL so they know that we sent you. Joinbilt.com slash big thing to start earning points with your rent payments today. But I want to talk about McCombie. Let's talk about it. Yeah, sure. Yeah.

So that's still, what's going on? So I started, when, you know, we were talking about showing the clip that we just showed, you know, I started a company with my four best friends called Beatle and Grims. We create high-end box editions of Dungeons and Dragons, these sort of premium luxury box editions for Dungeons and Dragons. And so, you know, and it's been hugely successful. It's been great. All four of those guys have quit their day jobs. They now run that company, you know, every day, day in and day out. And as they all came in, I sort of like didn't become irrelevant.

but, you know, they were running day-to-day operations. And around that time, a friend of mine who's a writer in Hollywood, came to me and said, hey, a friend of mine is selling his company called Blue Run. And we're thinking about starting a whiskey company and building high-end whiskey products for Dungeons and Dragons. Is there a world in which you collaborate what you're doing at Beetle and Grims, which is direct a customer. And what, you know, this whiskey experience was when Blue Run, which is a hugely popular brand,

was going to start a direct to customer. And that's how they became super successful. And so he said, do you think there's a world where those two things combined? And we got together and had a conversation and it made absolute sense, right? The idea of creating a whiskey built for fans by fans of something. Yeah. And not only did, you know, the first conversation we had is like, well, we don't have to limit it only. to Dungeons and Dragons and sort of sword and sorcery,

we can do other things. So our first drop was a year ago last week. It's called Quest's End, and it's a 16 drop sort of exploration of bourbon. Actually, that's not true. 16 different chapters of an ongoing saga, right? And so every bottle is a different character on the journey. each bottle

the liquid is crafted to represent that character that specific character and each bottle you get the next chapter of the story sure so as you're going along the first four drops were paladin rogue warlock

and dragon comes out for this Christmas so that's the first season of Questend and so what we did is that we brought that to market like we went to market this time last year so we went to market last year about this time. Questen, it sold out in the first two weeks. We had 5,000 bottles. And then

this incredible thing happened. We put on a waiting list because we knew we would have, you know, we'd kept some bottles behind for breakage and we were testing a shipping box and all this stuff. And we had 25,000 people sign up on the witness in seven days. And we're like, okay, well,

we can't leave all these people behind. And so we launched something called Palladin Plus One, same liquid, same bottle. we just inverted some of the art, same story. Yeah. And it's been off and running since then. We did Rogue. We sold all the units in the first month, which is great.

That's great. Yeah, and now we're up to Warlock, and like I said, Dragon comes out this Christmas. It's funny, because when you were talking about, I was going to say, because there are a lot of people who, there's a lot of celebrities who have started certain brands, liquor, and whether it's tequila, and as you were going, my first question was to be like,

do you get intimidated at first when, it comes to this because a lot of people are doing it. How do you go the market? But as you're talking about it, I don't, because you're a big D&D guy, you know, and you've been doing it for a while, it started. I was like, oh, wait, that makes a lot of sense. You go after that audience also, and you, but. Yeah, it's so funny.

So we, so our whole thing is that we, first of all, it's not a Matthew Lillard brand. I think a lot of celebrities are out there creating celebrity sort of like, this is my tequila. I am the co-founder, co-CEO. I work every day on it. But it's not built on my fame. It's built for a community. Right? So, like, most of these brands are, like, hawk, like, you know, when you walk down Bevmo,

you've got 50 yards, five shelves high of brown liquid. You're like, these, all, every single one of those people, brands are competing for everybody. And our whole thing is, like, I don't want to be the number one brand. I mean, obviously, who doesn't want to be the number of brand on that shelf? But our whole thing is, like, we want to be the number of brand on that shelf. But our whole thing is that we want to be the number one brand in a market. We want to be a number one brand in the place that you are the most passionate about. Yeah.

And so our value proposition always starts with, well, what do we give? What do we bring to a community? Not what we take from a community. What do we give? Um, and that has been sort of the north star of how we build. Um, and it's been really great, man. It's been like the, we had a first IRL event. down in Atlanta at a convention and the fans were like we just love everything you guys are doing the story's great yeah i have to plug

kate welsh as a writer she did an incredible job the first four books tyler jacobson's literally the most world-renowned um fantasy artist in the world he does all of our art our team's fantastic the liquid is like all premium super beautiful juice so um and alia cho is our master blender for that first series and she like crushed it like each one of them's delicious and it makes it so much more fun and engaging especially for the community than just saying hey i mean look there's nothing against it putting out a really good product i mean you when you're putting out art and you're putting out a story that makes it like especially because and it's also you know better than anybody that that community will call out posers within seconds but they know you're not

they know you're part of the community yeah yeah and listen and our whole thing is like you You can, and listen, and I think that Beetle and Grims have this too, is like, you guys are charging a lot for what you're making. And I was like, just buy a box. You buy a Beetle and Grims box and you play with a beetle and Grims box. You'll never want to go back. And we will stand by that every single time. We put so much time and effort into that experience so that every single time you sit down on a table,

you enjoy a different element coming out of that box. For us, Questend, like the juice is incredible, the box and beautiful, the box and the bottle is beautiful and the story is fantastic. So look, there's definitely less expensive whiskeys in the world, but, you know, we just, we think that the fans, when they find it, they just sort of love what we're doing. So we took the same idea, and as a brand, we're going to keep doing this, right? And so the next iteration is macabre spirits,

which is our horror-inspired tequila. That's cool. So we're making it a tequila. All right. So, and that's, to me, you're making it an event. you're making it people feel like they're being part of something when we're doing it. That's exactly right. That makes sense. And where can people find it though?

So yeah, so we deliver it right to your door. Oh, that's great. So it goes to, we delivered to, I think it's, I think we're up to like 41 states. Okay. Some of the states don't allow it. Like Utah doesn't allow it. And some of the states are prohibitive. Right. But, you know, for macabre, it's our horror themed tequila. It's a repasada

that we hand-selected. It's delicious. with the tequila we went to Mike Flanagan Yeah Fall of the House of Usher Incredible director Incredible we just did a movie together called Life of Chuck

That went in Toronto Film Festival So he I went to him and said And he's sober And I went to him I said do you Would you ever be interested in doing this And what happens is that Each bottle of macop spirits

Comes with a novella A short story It's in a book form. It's beautiful. And he kind of jumped at the idea. Okay, I was going to ask you. He didn't have a hesitation with it. No, he didn't.

No, he was like, I respect to, he has a whole forward in the book. He talks about the fact that he's sober, but that doesn't mean that you have to be sober. And so, yeah, so he wrote this incredibly creepy, horrific story that comes with a tequila. So our idea is that, you know, I'm sure you're going to show the bottle, but the bottle's beautiful. We went to this beautiful artist named Mia Bergeron, who's she's an artist I saw at an art show like years ago and just kept tabs on her because I thought her work was incredible. And then we gave her the story and she interpreted this painting.

So each bottle will have a different painting on the front of it. That's cool. And the story will change. We have her next author lined up and I'm really excited about him as well. So yeah, so this brand is like, Cop Spirits, it's all about sort of celebrating, like, it's a love letter to horror fans, and it's celebrating,

you know, it's more of a literary horror rather than, like, you know, I mean, Terrifier 3 came out this weekend. It's the opposite of, and I love those guys. Those guys are really fantastic. That story is incredibly I think they did the first movie of $200,000 and this one was

$2 million and it's made, you know, made $18 million in first weekend. It's crazy. Yeah, but that's, and that's what I wish. I use them as an example all the time because that, it's necessarily for me however for the hard people are loving it as you said you make that for two million dollars you make the profit then you look at something like joker which cost 200 million dollars the second one anyway and it's got its issues and i think studios overspend right now i think that we are past the days where i mean you look at something like scream so and the way that

scream was put together in like that well i mean the real we're talking about earlier five nights of freddies yeah is a 20 million dollar movie that made $300 million worldwide. It's one of the most profitable films in the last 10 years. Soon to be usurped by Terrapire 3. But, you know, an incredible success story. And I think that, listen, if you, you know, everyone's looking for IP. Everyone wants to capitalize on sort of, you know, building on brands they think

could hit home run. And here's Terifier 3, and they've built the brand over through short films. And they're putting the lore up there. So let's stay there then with Five Nights of Fridays because my daughter would be very upset with me. Okay, what's your daughter's name? Vivian. Vivian, you can do so much better for a father. Do you know how far away you live from the city of New York City?

We're 35 minutes away, dude. 70 hours. I was in the car. Vivian. We're 35 minutes away. She sent me questions to ask. Oh, good, okay, good. So she's probably the better questions than I do.

No doubt. I've seen the first. the first four-eighth questions. Yes, you have. All right. So she asked, how much do you know about the FNAF lore? It's a good question.

And the reason I say that is because I don't know a lot. But the reason I ended up doing the movie, it's very rare in Hollywood to get an offer for me to get an offer that you're like, I want to consider that. Normally on a big movie, they've gone to 100 other people. So no audition, just straight up. No audition.

I got a, it's actually kind of a great story actually. Scott, who's the show of the show creator. He's the creator of the game. Scott had, was going over, this is the legend he tells me, and I don't know how true it is, but I am assuming it is. He goes, he was,

I just done a Texas Frightmare, which is a great convention down in Texas. And he was going over potential candidates for the play this part named William Afton, who's sort of the center of the unit. He is the Voldemort of of the Five Nights of Freddy's universe. And so Scott was going over all these names

and they were at the kitchen table and he said Matthew Lillard and his nanny at the time was like, oh, that's so funny. That guy just spent five hours waiting for signing autographs for people who waited after the convention. And Scott was like,

oh, that may be my guy. And so he did a deeper research and then talk to the team and everyone got excited about the idea and they made me the offer which that's cool you know for me to get an offer like that and i went and sat down with emma tammie who's the director she's fantastic i loved her and i'm like you know and i was reading the script and there's only like two lines i think i like my my the original script i think i only have like two or three lines and i'm like i don't i don't know why you want me for this guy it's a yellow rabbit there's three lines i don't what is what am i doing like i don't i don't What is this part?

And she's the one that said, you're the Voldemore of this universe. And the universe is expansive. And there's going to be multiple films. And then I'm like, I'm in. I'm totally, I'm totally down. Do you get,

because we mentioned Dune before. I remember when Dune 1 came out during the district, right around the pandemic. And so they did the day in release. And Villanue was not having, they were just going to put it on streaming at one point. He's like, no, no.

And there was this, a lot of people going. putting it in the same day streaming and theater. Your movie, the Five In The Freddy, that's kind of anomaly. It did great in the theater.

Plus, were you nervous about that? Yeah, it was totally. I mean, the funny thing is that I do conventions a lot. I love conventions. Conventions are life-changing for me, and it's been fantastic for my family.

And the minute I was announced, I could immediately see my line go from like three to six hours, like overnight. And you see all these kids dressed up and you see the you know the the the passion that they have i mean look there's something beautiful about this that scott's created this incredible universe and has allowed the fans to fill in their belief their fan fiction their understanding like their lore like they all have these

theories as to what happens at the moment i came back from that meeting and i said that my wife was like you know i got this crazy offer and i don't know you know and it's called five nights of freddies and my My old, my middle kid who was upstairs came running down. It was like, Dad, what are you talking about? It's like, I finally paid attention to me. They finally paid attention to me. And they were like, what are you talking about? I'm like, yeah, I got this offer to be, you know, this yellow rabbit.

They were like, I don't know what the yellow rabbit is. And I'm like, his name, I guess, is William Afton. And they started to scream. Yeah. And I was like, wait, why are you screaming? And then my son came down. He's like, what are you talking about? And so both of them were.

like you absolutely have to do that movie and you know when you're in a career that's been around for so long and you've got an opportunity to sort of step into a role that is you know another franchise that's iconic and you sort of like you can't you know it's just a gift it crushed and i didn't even know how big it was. I mean, obviously, it does very well in the theater. It does very well on streaming. It blows up. It's a massive hit. And I'm, like, as I told you, that's what I do reporting on it when I'm talking about another thing. But I really started to learn, holy shit, this is like Star Wars to these kids. Like, my daughter, dude, she's obsessed, like obsessed, like loves the lore and had the same reaction. When I said that you were coming, she's like, William Afton.

Yeah. So to follow up on her. Sure. Her next question, which would be, have you ever played one of the games since you've been cast? And if you have, which one? So, yeah, so I said to Scott, I was like, look, there are early research. There is a lot to dive into. Where do you want me to begin? And he said, just play the first game. Okay. He's like, watch these play-throughs. So many kids out there don't play the game. They actually just love watching the YouTube and watching other people be scared. It's sort of like this layer between themselves and the person really sort of feeling that anxiety and fear. And so I watched, I played the first game. Yeah. You know, and then I really sort of loved, like trying to find things to hold on to because there's not a lot of William Afton out there.

Right. You know, he's the purple guy and he's sort of this elusive character, but, you know, trying to find, keep spitting everywhere. Sorry, I'm losing my voice. And so I'm like, my plosives are very wet, and wet plosives. So, yeah, so I just played the first game, and that was plenty enough for me. Okay.

Yeah, and that way you get a good feel of it, you know, you know it. I got it, you know, and my job is to like, you know, it's so funny, it's like so much of that last sequence is improv. Yeah. There's so much in it that. They let you play. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's cool.

And I was like, hey, we did that take. Can I just choose scenery for a second? or two. And it was so fun to go back. It's been a long time since I've played that maniacal dude. And it was just super fun. That was great. And then so I guess the next question is, is it true that on the set of the FNAF movie, Bonnie started moving

without the remote control being touched? Yes. Totally true. She might be under your bed. Bonnie may be under your bed. Fair enough. And then how did you get to play the character? How did you get in character to play, William?

It was funny. So I did that first scene, which is so weird. It was like a little bit where I play this guidance counselor. And that was super fun. But it was really interesting. I put on, so if you've not seen the film, I play this, I play this, I'm in this yellow rabbit. suit that's like seven and eight 10 feet tall you with the ears it goes god knows how tall it is um with

huge boots and the whole thing of the animatronic head and so you've got all these things and so the first time i put it on it was probably like 15 minutes before we started to shoot yeah and you know you're like oh god i got a figure stuff out real fast yeah you know and so i it's so funny i had audition for planet the apes oh okay And I loved my audition for Planet of the Apes. The newest one, the news came out. And I, like, worked on this thing. I was, like, the physicality, like, ah, oh, oh, wow.

You know, and I started, like, when I was working on this thing, I was walking around the house. I'm fucking pissed you didn't get it. Yeah, I was like, I thought for sure. Yeah. I mean, I thought for sure I would get a call back, like a work session or something, because I was like, I really loved this part. Yeah. And I was like, really loved this part. Yeah. And I was like,

Ape top. I was like doing this crazy stuff. But all, I put on the suit and I was like, okay, well now you're of this giant rabbit who's about to murder, spoiler alert, his daughter. Right. What is that?

Like, as an actor, like, how do you approach that? And I'm sure Daniel Day Lewis would have lived in the costume for like 12 days and killed three children. But there it was 15 minutes before, relying on like, you know, artistic instinct. And so I just found myself making these crazy sounds and starting to move. Yeah. You know, and there's the first scene I have as I walk in under this arch.

And I didn't want to walk in and like sort of tip my head and, you know, it doesn't work. So I came, like, you know, I found this thing and grew into my space. And I was like, oh, what is that? Yeah. And I sort of fell in love with this. like, you know, it became a little like, you know, these, these mask classes that you do as an actor, like in acting school. You're like, well, what am I ever going to use this stupid thing?

And here I am, you know, 30 years after class going, oh, that's what I'm going to use it. You know, you go, the great thing about going to class and if there's any actors out there, my whole thing about finding a program and digging in, you know, you, yeah, of course you may not use Shakespeare. You may never do that sonnet. not ever have to have perfect speech or transcribe a dialect. But there's something powerful about having that tool in your, you know, in your tool about that pull it out when you need it is, it's like beautiful. Yeah.

And the fact that you were able to use that and bring that to it. Because as you were saying that, it's like you just never know because it's, it's just in there. And then it's like just memory and then boom pops in there. That's amazing. So, you know, the other thing was that it was interesting when the movie came out, the people thought that it was going to be maybe rated R because the games are

and then PG-13 do you know if they're planning on doing the next one in rated R or not? I know they're not doing rated R. Okay. I know that they are committed to and Scott's committed to no gore. Yeah. Right? I think that that, I mean, I don't speak for Scott. God knows. But

in general, that's not where he lives. It's not what he likes. He doesn't like that in the world. And yes, it's a story of a man who murders a bunch of children but it's really evocative rather than in your face. I preferred that, to be honest with you. I preferred it. And look, I think that having read, I mean, the reason I have this crazy beer is because I go to work in 10 days.

Oh, you do. Yeah. So, you know, I'm back for the second one. It's about all I can say. And I think that the movie's grown a lot from where the first one was. I think that the, you know, I think that they've heard some of the things the fans may have wanted more action, more stuff. I think that the film has progressed,

and I think it's going to be really exciting for fans. I think they're going to eat it alive. Well, Viven's going to be very excited to hear it. That is for sure. Yeah. And then, you know, so you hear from New York Comic-Con plus... Yeah, I'm literally here for this interview seven hours away from that. I am literally here to do press for macabre.

Okay. Yeah, because there's so many people here, and so I just flew out to pick up a bunch of stuff. Yeah. And then, you know, the other thing. You mentioned something when you were talking about apes, and I started thinking like, I never envy. So we have a lot of mutual friends. Freddie, Prince Jr. is a friend. And Katie, Sackoff.

Oh, yeah. And so I have the same. And Bonnie Summerville, who are you also? Yeah, yeah. So we had, I have conversations with them all the time. And it's just like even doing when I was doing stand-up and I go to the auditions and stuff and I do that. And I'm just like, I can't do it. It's like, it just is like, for auditions for me, I was out.

right and being in again bring back mark mark paul who was talking about the other day it's like and he's very successful you're very successful you get to this place where it's just like you get a role like you know potential role like a something you want and it's like that letdown is never it never goes away right the the the but then again i guess following that up then you get one up getting five nights of fridays like is there's always something else around the corner but that that you know the the rejection It's just always there. And it's, does it, did you ever get to a point, part one, where you said, I'm, I'm done.

I'm going to do something else or never? Well, not because of not getting a job. I mean, yes, because it's not getting a job. But, you know, part of, I think that part of, here's the thing I like, I'm 54 years old. I've been doing it almost 30 years. I've been acting for almost 40 years, which is crazy. In fact, I think it is 40 years. Look, I think that you grow in wisdom.

Like, you know, the kid I was when I started isn't the man I am now. And so you start to understand that when you're going, look, if I don't audition and I'm not in production, which happens, you know, very rarely, then I don't get to act. And so for me, the idea of going into auditions and trying to work on this ape thing, like, I loved it. I had something to do. It doesn't go my way. Sure, that's a bummer. But that, but it is the time spent trying to get the job that is the job. Man, that is the work.

Adding more tools. Well, it's also, like, that's the work. Like, if you're, if you don't have the ability, if you're not auditioning, then you're, then you're doing nothing. Then you're creating something on a whole cloth, which I think is super important. Like, I always said actors. It's, it's not because you have too much, like, what kills actors is the time between jobs. And how you sort of, like, fill that time. defines if you're going to make it or not.

If you feel that time feeling sorry for yourself and not doing anything acting and then leaning into your day job and like, you know, and walking just a little off of the path, then you're never going to make it because you're going to eventually just fall into oblivion. So you've got to be building muscles

to survive the downtime. And that muscle, whether that's getting together with friends to read, whether you're producing a play, whether you're shooting something, whether you're writing, whether you're doing stand-up, whether you're doing improv, whatever that shit is, that's the thing that keeps you going. Yeah.

And so, yeah, you may not get the job. But at the end of the day, that muscle is the muscle you need to work because at some point you're going to get another shot and when it's time to work, then you have to be ready. It's not like, you know, if you're a professional athlete

and like in the middle of the season, you're like, yeah, I'm not doing sprints. Like, what are you doing? Like, you know, actors are like so like, I'm not working. Well, then do something. else, man, and then do something to fill the time that builds muscle that lets you keep working, that makes you feel creative.

Because that's the best part of life. It's not the job. It's the journey. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense, too. And I think in the same way that you could bring it stand up back into it where if there was time that didn't have something booked, I would find a way to get on stage somewhere and just do it to make sure you're still doing it at all times. Or else what?

Or else then you're just doing your day job. Right. And then that's some, then the day job is just your job. And that can, and that really can. And it starts to overtaken. And it's nothing against the other day job. Maybe the day job is what you were supposed to do. But it's just a matter of if you're supposed to do it, you're going to do it.

But, you know, I guess one of the fun questions I like to ask that too is it, was there something that a role that whether it is something that you, maybe you passed on it. And then it's like, oh, shit, someone else got it and it was a bigger role or just, and they maybe did it better. or you said I wouldn't have been able to do that or is there something that you know you just I mean I've never had a role go and I'm like I can't do that I mean I feel like everything you know there's a I've told the story

a couple times that was I went to audition for Jeffrey Dean Morgan's role on um whatever the thing walking dead oh yeah okay he played yeah and Egan Negan yeah and I went and auditioned

um it went great I love doing it They brought me back again I guess it's not gonna work But they liked you a lot So they're gonna give you another tweet I went back like three times Oh wow

And it's funny I saw I was doing Twin Peaks We were at San Diego Comic Con And the Walking Dead guys Right behind me and he walks in And you know that part goes on He becomes a legend

Every con you go to There's 10 Negan's walking around And look he's super he's a lovely actor he would have been he's super masculine and I just would have been more wicked and funny and he was

like super badass and masculine like we would just had totally different takes it just depends what they were looking at present and also he had the he had the offer yeah and they were back filling the offer in case he didn't take the offer I see so at some point we're at Comic Con and the creator of the show comes over

he's like you have no idea you had the part for like 10 minutes oh because they were like all right we're moving on and then the agent's called and said all right he's going to take the part the shitty business yeah because you would have had you know at that point I would have had another 10 years of work yeah yeah but then who knows but then the same thing we're just saying you don't know if you if if you're the contract you can't do some other things that you end up doing and start listen at the end of the day you're like you know you just want to our goal as artists is to to live out our days and die in your last breath and consider yourself an artist and and to you know spend a

lifetime doing the thing you love, whether it's successful or not, whether you're doing TV shows or not, it's irrelevant. You know, when I mentioned over the last week, two weeks that you were coming in a studio and there was a few of the audience had mentioned a particular movie. One of my movies that I just loved and I watched it so many times when it came out and I don't know if you get talked to about it a lot. But that's sideways. Not sideways. I love sideways. I was so good in sideways. Not sideways.

The time that Paul Giamatti kicked me in the nuts. Not sideways. The descendants. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Alexander Payne. Yes, thank you.

The descendants. I was in the same. I was in the neighborhood. I understood. The descendants. I should have let you hang you a little longer. You should let me sit in it. For the hours that I had to take together.

I don't believe me. You should. Hours I should let you sit in it. Same neighborhood. But yes, the descendants. And everything that, that movie, because it was a different role for you. Sure. And so tell me a little about working that one.

Because do you talk about that one in a lot? I don't know. No, nobody ever asks. Okay. It's a movie that I think is the single... I think it's George Clooney's best movie. I agree. It's incredible in the film.

I think Alexander Payne has made a masterpiece. And for some reason, it got lost, and I don't know, it's a movie that people don't talk about it. And I think it's crazy. At least they don't talk to me about it. I mean, maybe George walks around every day, and somebody's like, the Descends is incredible. But if you haven't seen... seen it. There's a, I think, one of the most brilliant film moments in, for me, in film history,

there's a moment when George walks in and Judy Greer is apologizing to his wife who's about to pass. And it is so funny because she is hysterically crying and apologizing and George is trying to get her out of the room and she's in a coma. And he gets Judy Greer out of the room and turns back to his wife and says goodbye. And, and, in the, and, and, a moment in less than 10 seconds you are laughing out loud and crying and move to this point of like oblivion you just get obliterated um and i just think it's a masterpiece it's allex i think alexander pain's an incredible filmmaker because he can walk this crazy fine line between these weird quirky performances that are authentic and yet beautiful um the movie's great it's it's a movie that

I told the story the day of the bunch of actors that I got the audition. In the audition, I was like auditioning on Thursday on Friday. It's a long story, so I'll try to abbreviate it. But Friday they said, you know, we got you an audition tomorrow to go and to meet Alan Sender Payne. You want to take it. I'm like, yeah, great. Sounds fantastic. I was like, do me a favor.

Can we just change the time? Because I'm going to take my kids. I just started doing the voice of Shaggy for films. And they were screening the movie at Warner Brothers. And my kids had just gotten straight A. So I'm like, they all got, they got, the two kids got dresses. And I was going to take them as like a celebration, right? And the audition was in Santa Monica at like five o'clock.

And the film started at six o'clock in the valley. And I was like, this is going to be miserable. Can you just move up the audition so that at four o'clock I can get done and get up there? And then as I read the script, it was like, it becomes clear that I am the one who slay. with George Clooney's wife. And I was like, oh, well, I'm never getting this job. It was never coming my way. I am not the dude stooping George Clooney's wife.

That dude is hot. He's a piece of ass. And I'm like, you know, whatever. I'm this, whatever. I'm not that guy. So I was like, but the opportunity to work for Alexander Payne would be incredible. And I hadn't worked in like a year. Okay.

And so I was really struggling, really at a low point in my life. and long story short, they're like, they can't move and you have to go into five o'clock. So I'm like, okay, I'll get there early, but as life happens and kids, I get there at exactly five o'clock. And if I left at five o'clock,

I could have gotten to the valley and taken my kids to see the movie. But if I go in there, you know, I'm going to be late and the whole thing's going to go sideways. Long story, way too long. I call my agent and I say, hey, I'm going to make the right choice.

I'm going to go be a good dad and I'm leaving the audition. I'm not going to the audition. Just tell them I'll come back next week or something. And the assistant said, I can't find the agent, his name was Steve. He's like, I can't find the agent, but I have to tell you something. They didn't want to see you. We had a client drop out, and we are shoving you into this audition.

So you either take the opportunity, you're never getting that job. And so I was like, oh, great, now they don't even want to see me. Right. And if I leave now, I can go take my kids, but now I'm going to go in this room and they don't even know I'm coming. Like, this is like terrible. Yeah. So I was like, well, I'm here. I feel like I have to, I really wanted to work for Alexander Payton.

I think it's incredible. And so I was like, I'm going to take my shot. So I walk in, I walk in, all these dudes are in the waiting room and they're all beautiful. I was going to what you exactly thought. Okay. And like, you know, they're all like great looking guys. Like great looking. And, you know, the Hollywood sort of strong chin abs for days.

These sons of bitches. Five foot five, but they're like yoked. Right, right. It was what you thought the role was that you, that you take. Yeah, it's exactly who, you know, this billiator. Yes, I'm so curious how you changed this around. So I walk in and I say to Alexander Payne and the director, cast and director, I was like, hey, you guys. They, we're cordial meeting high, high, hi, hi.

And I said, hi, here's the deal. This sounds crazy, but I have to go take my kids to go see Scoop. I'm the first, the voice of Shaggy. I'm going to take them to, they got straight A's. Do you mind if we just do the audition really quick? Because I got to go. And Alexander Payton, they're both like, yeah, sure, go ahead. So I do the audition, and I just let it rip.

I had nothing to lose. Right. Nothing. And I was like, I'm not the guy, but I'm going to be really fucking good. That's awesome. And I get done with the audition and Alexander Payton says, And I do think there's moments in life as an artist. You have to hold on to the good stuff.

And so he said that was the best audition I've ever seen. That's, what a company. You could have just gone home with that. Which is so good. And then I said, too bad I'll never get this job. And he was like, what? He taught the casting direction, like, get out of here. And so, yeah, like three months later,

he, like, sort of changed the way he saw the part or saw a bunch of you. He's very famous for seeing everyone for a part. and taking a very long time to cut the film. And so he cast me in this movie. Wow. Did you have to sit in it for three months? Or did you kind of know? No, like two days later, they're like, you did great. That's great.

We're not going to know anything for a long time, but you just know that you did your job. Good for you, dude. What a phenomenal story is. That's phenomenal. I'm good. I'm glad I asked you about it. It was good.

So the other thing I got to ask you about is, and I'm sure, you know, this was something. I talk too long. No, I thought that was such an inspirational story for people to, like, I think to really barrel that. And going back to what you said before, give it your all, no matter what. Even if you don't think you're going to get it or you even think you can do it, give it your all.

You have to every time. Listen, my whole thing is like, just be brilliant. Just try as hard as you can to be incredible. Well, the stand-up comedy side of it, too. I remember, you know, say what you want about the stuff that he's done in the past, but Louis C.K. has always said the best stuff. So it doesn't matter if you are spending, you know, if there's 2,000 people in a room or two, you perform

like there's 2,000 people in the room no matter what, and you don't say, oh, there's two people here, I don't care. You got to put the effort in no matter what. And I'm glad that you did. That's, and like I said, the movie was really good, and if you were really good in it.

So this is something, a challenge here for you. When it comes to scream, because you've talked about it a billion times in your lifetime, is there? And because I think I've deserved it by putting you in a car for two and everything.

Is there any story that you've never told about scream, ever, that you're funny, you say, you know what, there's one asshole that is going to ask me about this, and I'm going to tell them. I'm going to save it for you? Save it for me.

No. No, come on. Anything for you, you, son of a bitch. Not really. I mean, I think the thing that people have to understand is that it was just a movie. Yeah.

It's just a movie that caught fire, and it's just been popular because they keep making sequels. Did you watch, have you watched any of the sequels? I watched a couple of them. I've missed a couple of them. I've missed a couple of them. level.

Yeah. As I saw the last two. I like the, I mean, the last one to me is too violent. I don't really, I don't really understand

ghost face running around a shotgun, personally. Yeah, yeah. It's not, that's not clever. I think one of the great things

that Kevin did, and I'm excited to see what it does with the future. Yeah. You know, I think that the, the movie's smart. Mm-hmm.

And I think the movie always has to be really smart. And funny, I do think there's great moments to find levity and horrific circumstances. and not play the joke.

Yeah, well, there was, I mean, well, obviously, Skid came back for a few of the flashpacks. Are you, was there ever any meetings or any talks about you coming back? No, I mean, originally I was supposed to do,

and this is out there now, but I was supposed to do three. And then right before we started to shoot, Columbine High School happened. Oh, okay. And the idea of it was that I was running kids from prison

to do horrible things in school. So justifiably, They scrap that idea. Makes sense. You know, but the last two movies, there are a whole bunch of Easter eggs that stew's still alive. Yeah. You know, and listen, who knows what happens at a horror movie. Yeah.

Well, dude, thank you so much for coming in here. I really appreciate it. And I will make sure that the link to make sure that they can get. Yeah, that would be great. Absolutely. Yeah, of course. That's, that is going to be in the description. So make sure you check that out.

obviously five nights of Freddy's two is going to be out soon the body work in general i could have talked to him forever but i got to let him get the hell out of here he's been he was very generous with his time most of that sitting in a car um thank you so much for being here i i you know it's very rare that i get to like sort of share longer stories like so many things are so fast and so quick so yeah i really appreciate you letting me sort of talk too much yeah no please and we'll do it and next time we'll do it virtual we'll do it from when you're in l a and now you don't You're so dead to me. That's fine.

What, did you say next time? Well, you said that last time. I got you in here. I got you here last time six years later. All right. Thanks, everybody. Matthew Lillard. See you later.

Thanks. Bye.