Matthew Lillard Officially Reveals What ‘Carrie’ Allowed Him to Do That No Other Project Has
Taylor Gates is an Indiana native who earned her BFA in Creative Writing from the University of Evansville. She fell in love with entertainment by watching shows about chaotic families like Full House, The Nanny, Gilmore Girls, and The Fosters.
After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer, editor, and filmmaker. Today, she’s a sucker for dramedies — especially coming-of-age stories centering around complex female and LGBTQ+ characters. She has been with Collider since May 2022.
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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Carrie.
Summary
- In an interview with Collider, Amber Midthunder shares one small line that completely recontextualizes her character.
- Matthew Lillard discusses the new challenge of playing the voice of reason.
- The duo discusses working with scene partners Rahul Kohli and Samantha Sloyan.
Matthew Lillard was one of the biggest stars of the ‘90s and early 2000s, starring in phenomena like Scream, She’s All That, and Scooby-Doo. Thirty years later, however, his career is only getting bigger and more exciting, with roles in the wildly popular Five Nights at Freddy's and Daredevil: Born Again. He’s always found a home in the horror genre, making him a perfect fit for Mike Flanagan’s new Carrie series. In it, she plays the principal of Ewen High School, where the sheltered Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) finds herself mercilessly bullied by Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton) and her clique.
Amber Midthunder has been working professionally for the last 25 years, though her breakout role came a decade ago in the superhero series Legion. Since then, she’s had prominent arcs on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Avatar: The Last Airbender and appeared in films like Opus and Novocaine, though her most impressive role came in the form of the Predator sequel Prey, a lead role for which she received rave reviews. She plays Rita Desjardin in Carrie, the school’s gym teacher who tries to help her adapt.
Collider got the chance to speak to Lillard and Midthunder about their work in the series. During the conversation, Lillard reveals what the show allowed him to do that very few other projects have and why he’s so proud to be a part of it, while Midthunder discusses a small detail about her character that proved to be the key to unlocking her and building a romance with Rahul Kohli.
“It's an important level of honesty and self-reflection that we all should have.”
COLLIDER: Amber, your character's background surprised me a little bit. In Episode 2, we discover that she used to be one of the bullies in school. How do you think that influences how she sees and interacts with her students?
AMBER MIDTHUNDER: I appreciate that Mike put this in the script and put this in her story. I think that what is, to her, a passing comment [is something that] people are really, in these interviews, focusing on. I think it's quite an interesting thing to mark because it's an important level of honesty and self-reflection that we all should have. The fact that she says it with ease, I think, is a marker of growth. She sort of feels the responsibility of not just protecting Carrie, but helping these other girls. I think she wants to be able to access Chris, and she sees that Sue has these qualities where she could kind of go either way in the influence that she has, and that's what Mike has created in this new iteration. It's these characters that we know in these familiar circumstances, but it is sort of a new take on that, and we get to live with them in a whole different way. I think, for both of us, that was a really fun part of getting to play inside of Mike's sandbox that he's created.
Matthew Lillard Finally Gets to Play the Voice of Reason in ‘Carrie’
“It was different for me, and a challenge, and something I'm really proud of.”
Matthew, your character really has to be the voice of reason in just about every situation. How did you approach being the rock or the center of gravity of this story in many ways?
MATTHEW LILLARD: The center. Exactly, Tay Tay. Way to call it out. He's the center. I am pitching Carrie and Grayle. Look, it's very funny. I am very rarely the center.
MIDTHUNDER: See what you did? Do you see what happened? He’s going to run with it.
LILLARD: You just made my day, Tay Tay. It's not normally my position as an actor. Normally, I'm the one sort of spinning out on the sides, making jokes, and making people laugh. So to be the center of gravity, as you said — because I agree — he's trying to move this entire community through the moment. It was different for me, and a challenge, and something I'm really proud of.
You can't always say this. We've both been a part of a lot of projects that, when you're at a junket like this, you're sort of finding the things to say, and you're really doing your best to sell the show. But here, I think it is a great example of, I'm proud of my work. I'm proud of the show. And I cannot wait for people to see it.
MIDTHUNDER: We can both, I think, honestly tell people to watch the show because it's really phenomenal.
Amber Midthunder Is Glad She Had Rahul Kohli by Her Side in ‘Carrie’
"The way that he breaks down a scene is really lovely."
The show is about the teenagers, but I love how much depth the adult storylines get as well. Amber, you get a love story that obviously goes south eventually, but it's really sweet in the beginning. What was it like building that dynamic opposite Rahul, and do you have a favorite moment that you found with him?
MIDTHUNDER: Look, Rahul is an incredible actor. He's a lovely guy, and I feel so fortunate that I got to share so much time with him on screen and on set. He's a really smart actor, and he obviously is no stranger to Mike, and I think it was a really nice introduction for those of us cast members who are new to this world to feel immediately so welcomed. Going through blocking rehearsals and stuff and seeing the way that he breaks down a scene is really lovely.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Child's Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.
03
Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.
04
Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.
06
Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.
07
Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.
08
Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.
The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
Elm Street
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.
- Freddy is horror's cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
- You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this does its damage.
- These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
- You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.
Chucky
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
- Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
- You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
- The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you have met those adults.
- By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.
Scream
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
- Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be somebody who was at the party.
- You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch films.
- The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
- Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
- The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
- Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
- This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
- Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one standing in the hallway.
On our first day that we really filmed together, we did all of our scenes at the bar together, including when our characters smooch a little. Mike is an incredible storyteller. He's also an incredible prankster, and he had a fart machine that he carried with him all season. On our last take of the makeout scene, he did the fart machine, and that was the first time that Rahul or I had experienced it on set. Rahul had just made a joke, and then we started kissing, and the fart machine went off, and we both just melted into the car. It was, like, dead laughing.
LILLARD: Did you know that it was fake?
MIDTHUNDER: Immediately. I knew what was going on — Rahul didn’t. I saw him freeze like he thought it was maybe me, and then I started laughing because he didn't know what to do. He was trying to be polite, and then he got it. It was really good.
Samantha Sloyan Took Matthew Lillard’s Breath Away During ‘Carrie’ Rehearsals
“That is the level of preparedness, the level of professionalism, and the level of talent you're dealing with.”
Matthew, some of my favorite scenes were between you and Samantha. She is such a powerhouse, so I want to ask you the same question. What was it like building that relationship with her, and is there a favorite moment you two found?
LILLARD: First of all, I think when you come to see the show — and hopefully people see this, and they're drawn into it — you are going to see performances that are gonna blow you away. Summer H. Howell is remarkable, and right behind that is Sam Sloyan. I think the two of them have got to be considered for all the awards because they're brilliant. So for me, going to work with Sam is like your Olympic moment. You want to be at your best in that moment, because she is bringing such an A-game.
But one of my favorite moments happened in rehearsal. We had one month of rehearsal, and in rehearsal, Mike — six months or five months before we shot the scene — asked Sam. We're talking about our relationship, and in Episode 6, the two of us present at a community event, and he was like, “We should really review that.” And Sam's like, “Well, we can do it now.” Five months before we shot that scene, Sam knew this three-page monologue off the top of her head. That is the level of preparedness, the level of professionalism, and the level of talent you're dealing with.
MIDTHUNDER: Breathtaking moment.
LILLARD: ‘Breathtaking’ is a good word for it.
MIDTHUNDER: It's just a bare room, and Mike is just throwing out, “Where should we…? Oh, what about this scene? Sam, do you know?” It’s beautiful.
This show has such an amazing ensemble cast. Is there anyone you didn't get to work with much or at all that you really wish you could have shared more scenes with?
MIDTHUNDER: Sam. I didn't have any one-on-one scenes with Sam. We never directly interacted.
LILLARD: Rahul. I love Rahul as a person, so that would have been fun. I would love to make out with him. He's so dreamy.
Carrie is streaming on Prime Video.
- Release Date
- 2026 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- Prime Video
- Showrunner
- Mike Flanagan
- Directors
- Mike Flanagan, Axelle Carolyn, Hiromi Kamata, Kate Siegel, Kyra Sedgwick
- Writers
- Mike Flanagan, Alexandra Magistro, Justina Ireland, Jamie Flanagan, Elan Gale, Rebecca Klingel, Elizabeth Padden, Dani Parker
-
Summer H. Howell
Carrie White
-
Samantha Sloyan
Margaret White
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.