Matthew Lillard on How Helen Changes His ‘True Lies’ Assassin

If the first word that comes to mind when you think of Matthew Lillard guest starring on True Lies as a merciless contract assassin is “fun,” you’d be right. That’s exactly what the March 22 episode of the CBS drama brings.

Lillard’s character comes in when the Omega Sector team must seek out his help after an international catastrophe occurs on live TV. “He’s a hoot,” Lillard tells TV Insider of The Wolf. Such is definitely the case when it comes to his interactions with everyone, especially Harry (Steve Howey) and Helen (Ginger Gonzaga).

Below, he shares more about the guest spot.

What did you initially know about The Wolf before you got the script?

Matthew Lillard: I’m certainly familiar with True Lies, the movie. I was the fan of it back in, I guess, the ’90s. And then I am friends with Matt Nix, who’s the showrunner. He and I have been friends for a long time. We live in the same community, and we actually play Dungeons & Dragons together. So when he told me that he had written me a role and wanted me to check it out, I was thrilled to say the least.

Introduce The Wolf.

The Wolf is a legendary hit man in the world. He is notoriously violent, and I think his reputation precedes him.

Jace Downs/CBS

Talk about his dynamic with Harry because Harry’s the one guy who really doesn’t warm up to him or want to warm up to him.

His dynamic with Harry is fantastic. I’ve known Steve Howey for probably 20 years. He and I played basketball together for years. We traveled on an NBA basketball sort of celebrity team for a long time. And so I was thrilled to get a chance to work with him. I do think the cast is phenomenal and it was one of the reasons I decided to come work on the show. He’s lovely.

Steve’s character has seen The Wolf in action and was sort of horrified by what he saw and the ability in which he had to do those things. And so the idea that my character’s being introduced to this specific mission gives him a lot of pause.

It’s with Helen that The Wolf really gets to be Nathan. We actually see him be a person with Helen. Why is that?

She stops to see him. I mean, here’s this guy who’s sort of wandering through the world doing horrible things and is just looking to be seen. And Helen has that ability to see outside of what the agency does and start to see The Wolf/Nathan for what he is, which is a good person. That attention that he gets from her changes him in a really profound way, which is one of the lovely things about the episode. You’ve got this misdirect of what we think is this horrible creature who’s just looking to be loved and Helen’s able to provide that.

How much should Omega trust The Wolf given his profession?

I think they should trust him implicitly. I think that The Wolf is somebody who operates with a very clear set of boundaries. He’s rigorous in terms of his beliefs. Omega are the good guys and I think he would do anything he could to protect those people that he works with. I actually think he’s quite honorable. He just does horrible things.

And then he goes out to get something to eat after.

Yeah, he’s hungry.

What was your favorite scene to film?

I think my favorite scene to film is the scene where he is teaching Helen to shoot, because it’s in that scene that she starts to speak to him like a real human being and he’s sort of opening up to her and you get the sense it’s the first time he’s opened up to anyone in his life. And here they are, he’s teaching her a skillset that she needs and she has the ability to see through the things they’re working on and make a real human connection. I also like the first scene where she sees him in the café.

They were all fun. It’s very rare that you get to play a character on a TV show that people let you play, that they welcome you playing, that they are open to interpretation. And I really felt like the director of the episode [Scott Peters] and Matt Nix were really lovely in allowing me to get in there and shape something that may not have been the original concept but ended up being something super lovely.

True Lies, Wednesdays, 10/9c, CBS

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