Five Nights At Freddy's director Emma Tammi reveals what Matthew Lillard brought to the highly anticipated horror movie. Lillard is no stranger to horror, becoming iconic to the genre with his role as Stu Macher in the first Scream. Although he's been doing more voice-acting work in recent years, he'll return to the genre with the new Five Nights At Freddy's adaptation.

During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant for Five Nights At Freddy's, Tammi spoke about bringing Matthew Lillard back into the horror genre. She praised his approach to the iconic Five Nights At Freddy's, including his reverence for the fans. Tammi explained how he "inhabited the role with such joy and menacing fear," including his physicality and creativity with ad-libbing. Check out Tammi's full quote below:

Emma Tammi: Matthew Lillard is an icon, and he stepped into this iconic role with both reverence for what he knew the fanbase would want to see and also a wild imagination for bringing this character to life in a way that has never been seen. That is a combination of the way he moves, the way he speaks. At times ad libbing a line. This was before the strike, just to be clear, that was still allowed. He inhabited the role with such joy and menacing fear. And that's the brilliant combination that he is capable of. That is incredible.

Matthew Lillard's Horror Experience Makes Him The Perfect Addition To Five Nights At Freddy's

Nearly 30 years ago in Scream, Lillard was able to bring an impressive amount of physicality, deranged humor, and terrifying menace with his performance as Stu Macher. Although Lillard's character was killed, some Scream fans have held out hope that the many sequels would reveal that he had actually survived in the hopes of seeing him return to the franchise. Eagle-eyed Scream fans have even pointed out a moment in one of the Five Nights At Freddy's trailers that could be a reference to the classic horror movie.

Related: Yes, Five Nights At Freddy's Can Still Work As A PG-13 Movie

Five Nights At Freddy's has a lofty goal and a ravenous fanbase. Many are passionate about the expansive lore, while others hope to see the movie capture the terrifying atmosphere of the game, including the heart-stopping jump scares. This movie is an opportunity to not only continue the recent streak of impressive video game adaptations after Super Mario Bros. and The Last of Us but also show why Hollywood should venture into the different genres of gaming.

Lillard is playing a character named Steve Raglan, but many suspect this could be an alias, and he is actually portraying the serial killer at the heart of Five Nights At Freddy's William Afton. Whoever Lillard is playing, he immediately brings a wealth of horror knowledge and experience as an actor, and it sounds like it paid off in his performance. The combination of "joy and menacing fear" is uniquely Lillard and likely elevates Five Nights At Freddy's as a whole.