‘I've Got To Work On My Abs.' Why Matthew Lillard Really Wants To Do A Gay Rom-Com With Tom Cruise

The ‘90s and ‘00s may have served Matthew Lillard well in movies like Scream, She’s All That, and the Scooby-Doo movies. But he’s been knocking it out of the park with his recent roles, like being in the cast of Five Nights at Freddy’s and its sequel, and bringing Stu back from the dead for the seventh Scream movie. In terms of what Lillard is gunning for in his next role, he proposes a gay rom-com with Tom Cruise and feels he’s “got to work on my abs” for it.

Lillard’s well-known roles have shown he could freak us out and make us laugh. But the American actor told US Magazine about a new genre he’d like to venture into for his next role:

I would love to see the SLC Punk! actor make his way into a rom-com. Sure, he’s been a supporting role in the feel-good genre in movies like Summer Catch, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and What Love is. But he deserves to be the object of desire as a leading man, just like any other actor. And like the talented actor said, the man “needs love” on the big screen too.

If Matthew Lillard has pictured himself starring in a romantic comedy, that must mean he’s imagined who would star opposite him. Fortunately, the Without a Paddle actor gave the publication a couple of ideas, and one of them involves Tom Cruise:

You’ve got to love Matthew Lillard’s answer. Not only for thinking of prepping himself already for any shirtless scenes, but for being open to starring in a gay rom-com. And with Tom Cruise! Well, the Mission: Impossible star has led high-grossing non-MCU movies, and the serious actor has proven to crush comedic roles. So, I understand why Lillard would think of Cruise as his leading man.

An LGBTQIA+ rom-com would certainly be a first for both actors. Interestingly enough, one thing Tom Cruise and Matthew Lillard have in common is playing characters that have suggestive homoerotic undertones to fans. For Cruise, one of his hardcore characters was playing Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, who was theorized to harbor intense feelings for Brad Pitt's Louis.

And for Matthew Lillard, fans speculated in Scream that there was some homoerotic subtext between his character, Stu, and Billy. Since both of those movies were made in the ‘90s, when queer characters weren’t as visible as they are today, the two actors can now be free to portray same-sex desire in the rom-com genre that, like Lillard said, we could use more of.

The Good Girls actor may feel like he’s got to do some ab work if he were to star in a gay rom-com with Tom Cruise. But his chemistry with the action star would surely speak volumes to audiences more than any six-pack could. While we’ve had great LGBTQIA+ rom-coms lately like Bros, Fire Island, and Red, White, & Royal Blue, we should still see more of this positive representation contribute to the genre.

Make sure to see the “scream king” actor return to the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise with its 2025 movie release sequel, heading to theaters on December 5th.