NEWSWilliam H. Macy Reveals Which Actors Are 'Rough' to Work With: 'It Pisses Me Off'
William H. Macy opened up about 'rough' Hollywood actors, saying they sometimes 'piss him off.'
May 6 2026, Published 7:42 a.m. ET
William H. Macy is getting candid about his experiences in Hollywood.
During an appearance on the “We Might Be Drunk” podcast with hosts Sam Morril and Mark Normand, the veteran actor opened up about which stars he finds “rough” to work with.
William H. Macy didn’t hold back when asked about actors who are 'rough' to work with.
“I got to ask, what actors do you really hate?” Normand started. “[Matthew] Modine?”
Macy quickly shut that down: “No!”
“I’ve never acted with Matthew. Should I hate him?” he added, keeping things light.
But when Tommy Lee Jones came up, Macy didn’t hesitate to be honest.
“He was rough. I’m not letting out any secrets,” the Fargo alum admitted.
The 'Boogie Nights' alum admitted Tommy Lee Jones 'was rough,' while clarifying he never worked with Jim Carrey.
Morril chimed in, noting he had heard Jones was “a bad tipper,” adding to the conversation.
As for Jim Carrey, Macy clarified he never worked with him directly, saying, “I did not act with him, but I just heard he can be really tough.”
That’s when Macy zoomed out and got real about the industry as a whole.
“There are a lot of actors out there who make life miserable for a lot of people, and they don’t get busted for it. It pisses me off,” he said.
The actor said some stars 'make life miserable' on set and 'don’t get busted for it.'
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Still, it wasn’t all criticism. Macy also reflected on one of his most memorable projects, Boogie Nights, where he played “Little” Bill Thompson, a soft-spoken assistant director working for Jack Horner, portrayed by Burt Reynolds.
While looking back, Macy took a moment to praise his late costar Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Scotty J. in the film.
“I miss him; he was the best of his men. That guy could act,” Macy said, clearly emotional. “We did not hang out. We weren’t friends that way, but we did two movies together.”
“We hang out on set and I just adored him, really interesting guy,” he continued. “He could play anything.”
The two actors worked together on several projects, including Magnolia, State and Main and Boogie Nights — all films that showcased Hoffman’s incredible range.
Macy also noted that Scotty was a “great villain” in Mission Impossible, continuing his praise for the late star.
William H. Macy grew emotional while remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman, calling him incredibly talented.
Hoffman tragically died on February 2, 2014, at the age of 46 after an accidental overdose in his New York City apartment — a loss that still resonates across Hollywood.
Reflecting on his own journey, Macy — who began acting in the 1970s on stage in Chicago before making his film debut in 1980’s Somewhere in Time — also shared how he stays in shape while continuing to thrive in the industry.
“I’m a skier. I’m a hiker. I’ve had the same trainer for 22 years. Her name is Kristen Hultreen, and she’s a genius. She’s been training [wife] Felicity and me for 23 years? Something like that, and it’s weight training,” he shared with GQ in 2025.
“Our home in L.A. has stairs, and we do these stairs, and if you do this little loop, it’s a little under a mile. So, do two of the two of those, and you’ll have a teenage b---. I mean it’s stair after stair — there are 444 of them. I know that because I’ve climbed them and I built them all,” he added.
