Matthew Lillard on Launching Dungeons & Dragons-Inspired Whiskey, His Dream Table, More (Exclusive)
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Longtime Dungeons & Dragons adventurer Matthew Lillard is leveling up tavern menus with a new line of game-inspired spirits. (Sorry, Constitution rolls won’t save you here.)
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Quest’s End is the debut whiskey from Find Familiar Spirits, a new alcohol company co-founded by the Scream actor alongside screenwriter Justin Ware and Blue Run Spirits co-founder Tim Sparapani. Available in limited numbers, each bottle “is the continuation of an ongoing story. The first four bottles are Paladin, Rogue, Warlock and Dragon,” Lillard exclusively tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Distilled in Indiana and Kentucky, the first bottle, Paladin, is a straight bourbon whiskey blend characterized by notes of vanilla and fruit “with an undercurrent of spice to reflect her fighting spirit” (per the bottle’s tasting notes) and is now available for pre-order online for $150 for Quest’s End newsletter subscribers starting today ahead of its November launch.
For $600, the Quest’s End High Roller Guild membership includes all four initial releases, plus a virtual tasting with the whiskey creators, an exclusive signed collectible lithograph, merchandise discounts and more.
Whiskey scientist and master brewer Ale Ochoa was given “carte blanche to create flavor profiles that relate directly to the [16] characters” and storyline written by pioneering D&D game master (GM) Kate Welch, while renowned fantasy and sci-fi illustrator Tyler Jacobson crafted the art. The whiskey’s first saga, Dawn of the Unbound Gods, begins with Sarin of the Pit, “who was born in the fighting pits, a paladin of the god of life, Inxa,” says Lilliard.
“Each one of the bottles has a map on the back. It has hit points on the side, so as you drink down the hit points, you get stronger! One of the things we wanted create is something very bespoke, so the bottle’s beautiful. You’re getting a story; an entire unboxing experience,” Lillard continues.
Find Familiar Spirits marks the second nerd universe launch for Lillard, who debuted the luxury table-top role-playing game (TTRPG) company Beadle & Grimm’s in 2018 with longtime friends — and fellow D&D players — Jon Ciccolini, Bill Rehor, Charlie Rehor and Paul Shapiro.
In early 2024, the company will announce its next fantasy fandom partnership. “Each year as we go forward, we’ll continually find communities that have a fan base, that’s committed, that are passionate, that are fun-loving, accepting and full of joy,” says Lillard.
Lillard is also bringing more D&D to the small screen in the form of Faster, Purple Worm! Kill Kill!, a “Whose Line Is It Anyway?-meets-D&D” improv and live gameplay series produced by Beadle & Grimm’s that will air on the free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel, Dungeons & Dragons Adventures. (The company is not AMPTP-related and thus not included in the SAG-AFTRA strikes.)
The comedy show spans 20 one-hour episodes and features a revolving cast of first-level characters played by Lillard, Seth Green, Skeet Ulrich, Patton Oswalt, Deborah Ann Woll, Todd Stashwick, Michael Irby and others, and each “table is a hundred percent new people cycled through a new DM, a new world, and the whole conceit is there’s one monster and everyone dies in the end.”
“It’s an incredible ambassador to the game,” says Lillard. “Every single show is funny, and every single show is played differently. There’s no wrong way to play Dungeon & Dragons.”
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Lillard on how he went from ditching D&D as a teen to getting back into the game, how a “midlife crisis” sparked his TTRPG company, how he and his longtime game group have managed to keep playing together for nearly three decades, what his dream table looks like and more.
First off, what’s your favorite race and class to play?
I always like the ageless wisdom of an elf, and that dex [dexterity] bonus doesn’t hurt! And while I’m always in to play “whatever the group needs,” my first preference is a Druid, Circle of the Moon. I love playing characters that can provide a perfectly timed, cunning move that wild shape can often help facilitate.
Why did you make the Paladin the first character and flavor for Quest’s End?
We started with Paladin because we’re two creatives — [Ware] is a writer, I’m an actor. We have spent our entire lives in this industry, and while we love it, we needed to do something else outside of it. We wanted to build something that allowed us the ability to control our own destiny. The idea of a Paladin is somebody that has a vision; a really strong belief. We thought it was a great way to start our story: with somebody that has a conviction that she fully believes in. And we feel the same way about this company, the idea of building stuff for fandoms. We’re already talking with producers who have incredibly successful IPs that we would build in-world whiskeys into film and television, and then bring those out and sell them direct to the fans of the show and the community.
I read in a Reddit thread from a few years back that you’ve been playing D&D with the same friends for over 25 years. How’d you go from that to creating these two new companies? And perhaps most importantly, how have you miraculously kept the group going?
I’ve been here for a minute, I started when I was 10, and I’m 53 now! Except for my teenage years when I [stopped] because I didn’t want to get beat up. … It wasn’t until I got to acting school [at Circle in the Square in New York] when I was 21, and my roommate had brought the core rule books with him [that I got back into the game]. I was like, “Dude, why do you have that core rule book? That’s D&D. That’s crazy.” And he’s like, “Yeah, we should play.”
Next thing you know, four of us that started that company, we’re playing Dungeon & Dragons one night. We started at like 11 o’clock at night and played till 6 in the morning, we’ve been playing ever since. Five years ago, we were literally having a midlife crisis, trying to find something else to do. We’d all found success in our careers and were happily married and had kids, so we decided to start a company, Beadle & Grimm’s. We make editions of TTRPG games, and now all four of my partners have left their full-time careers.
We work with Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, [the web series] Critical Role — the pillars in the TTRPG space. It’s a thriving business and it’s one of the reasons why we started Find Familiar Spirits. I saw firsthand the power of building something premium for people who are voracious around fandom. And the success that we’ve had [with Beadle & Grimm’s], we think can translate incredibly well to the spirit space.
The problem with that company is that it was built from 5 p.m. to 12 o’clock at night, every single night. So we would do our day jobs, be the parents of our kids and the husbands to our partners. And then we would settle in and start building this company. And one of the things we had to do — because our days were now being taken up building this company — is make a commitment to get away every single quarter, no matter what, as a company with those five core members. One of the standing orders for those weekends is we have to play games. We’re all busy, as we’re all now tethered to our phones and work never seems to have regular hours, you have to make that commitment to sit around the table with your friends.
I always say, it’s the best way to spend a life. Spending time around a TTRPG table or whatever game you play is the best way to spend a life. And that’s how we make sure that we continually play. Because in the playing of games, you remind yourself [of that] every single time, for us, for [Beadle & Grimm’s], for Find Familiar Spirits.
How do these projects fit into your life in Hollywood?
One of my best friends in the world [Justin Ware], he’s a screenwriter. We met on a movie a hundred years ago, and we’ve always tried to put together shows. We’ve been out with pitches left, right and center in town trying to make shows and movies.
As everyone in this industry knows in Hollywood, it’s virtually impossible to get something together. And so over time, our friendship has grown in the sort of pain and suffering of trying to create projects, and one of the things that is really difficult in this industry, which is so crystal clear against the backdrop of the strike, is that we have to so many times wait for the industry to find time to work us into their schedule, right? If I was acting 50 weeks a year, there would be no time to build other companies.
But the reality is what kills the artist, what kills the actor, what kills the writer isn’t the work [or] the struggle to put the work together — it’s the time between those jobs. One of the things I used to do as a young actor is I used to call my agent and my manager every single day and ask them what was going on in my career. And that standing panic around work or not-work, is ultimately detrimental to your mental health and every aspect of your life. And so it was about 10, 15 years ago that I realized that the only way I would find joy is to let the acting part of my life, the Hollywood part of my life, be a very singular piece of it.
If I could act every single day of my life, nothing would make me happier. But I started to find other ways to build, to create opportunities to feed my family going forward outside of acting, and that’s where Beadle & Grimm’s came in. That’s when I started to teach, that’s when I really started to generate and create an entrepreneurial spirit. And so what happened is that we started to see the success of Beadle and Grimm’s.
What does your dream D&D table look like?
I think my dream table is my family. Playing with my kids is the best — the idea of sitting around and telling a story with your kids and watching them do heroic things and figure out collectively how to solve a problem and to help tell a story. Would I want to play with [Stephen] Colbert? Yeah! Would I wanna play with [Barack] Obama? Of course! The idea of playing with Matt Mercer, who plays every single day, yes! But watching my kids do incredible things in a game is awesome.
Last but not least, what are your go-to essentials for D&D, whether you’re playing in person or over Zoom? And what are you into these days beyond the table?
My go-to items for gaming? Nice! Makes me feel just like Oprah! At the top, I always prioritize simplicity. For those extended gaming sessions, caffeine is non-negotiable, and my Nespresso machine ensures I’m always just a minute away from a double shot of espresso.
I have a deep appreciation for in-person play, and the experience of playing on a Wyrmwood gaming table is unmatched. Beadle & Grimm’s owns one of their modular tables, and the craftsmanship is epic. (It’s worth noting that Wyrmwood hosted Beadle & Grimm’s at our first Gen Con, adding a special sentimentality to their work for me.)
As a player character [PC], the choice of dice can truly define the experience. Dispel Dice, with their intricate designs and beautiful resin edges, are some of my favorite sets out there. When I sit behind the screen as a GM, my aim is to craft rich, immersive stories. Essential tools in this endeavor include WizKids miniatures and terrain by Dwarven Forge. While on the topic of enhancing gaming experiences, Beadle & Grimm’s entire mission is to make sessions as immersive as possible. So yeah, I like playing with our stuff! (Yes, a bit of a shameless plug here!)
Beyond the gaming table, I have a penchant for understated yet stylish gear, with Imogene and Willie being a top pick. And for celebrating those victorious late night monster-slaying sessions, Clayton & Crume rocks glass make everything taste better! I’m also madly in love with my new Rivian. So there ya go, look out Oprah!
Interview edited for length and clarity.
This story was originally published Aug. 22.
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