Matthew Lillard was an actor struggling to make ends meet in the early aughts — until Freddie Prinze Jr. stepped in.

“The reality is that [our film] Summer Catch came in a time when we didn’t have money, and I had auditioned, and I felt really good about my audition, and I loved it,” Lillard, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Exact Sciences’ Cologuard test. “And I actually sent the director, Mike Tollin, three telegrams, advocating for myself to play the catcher. The problem was, I’m 6’4. He’s like, ‘Dude, there are no 6’4 catchers.’”

Lillard explained that while Tollin thought he was “great” and promised to “use” him at some point down the road, the director didn’t think he was right for a role that required him to portray a catcher on a minor league ba

See Full Page