Jake Lacy has made a career out of playing guys you want to punch. Not in real life, presumably (he seems lovely), but on screen? The man has a gift for smug, entitled, quietly infuriating characters, and he knows it. In fact, when fans stop him to talk about The White Lotus, they don’t lead with a compliment. They lead with an insult. That’s the Jake Lacy experience, apparently.

Us Weekly sat down with the actor for one of those “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me” interviews, and honestly, it’s a pretty fun read. Lacy’s promoting his new movie A Mosquito in the Ear, which is in theaters now, but the conversation wanders into steak dinners, Diane Keaton emails, and the specific flavor of hate he gets from strangers on the street. Let’s get into it.

The White Lotus Hate Is Real, and He’s Fine With It

Here’s the thing about Shane Patton, Lacy’s character from season one of The White Lotus – people really, really did not like him. And I get it. He was whiny, entitled, obsessed with getting the right hotel suite while everyone around him was dealing with actual grief and trauma. Classic rich white guy on vacation energy. Mike White wrote that character to be insufferable, and Lacy nailed it a little too well.

“When people talk about The White Lotus to me, they typically start [with], ‘We couldn’t stand your character!'” Lacy told Us Weekly. And that’s not even the worst of it. “That, or they throw some family member under the bus,” he continued. “‘You are just like my brother-in-law…'”

I mean, can you imagine? You’re just trying to get a coffee and someone walks up to compare you to their least favorite in-law. That takes a certain kind of secure person to laugh off, and it sounds like Lacy’s made peace with it. Good for him, honestly, because that’s the price of being really, really good at your job.

He’s a Grill Guy. No Surprise There.

Not every fact needs to be deep. Sometimes you just want to know what a celebrity cooks, and Lacy delivered: “When it’s my turn to cook, it’s definitely steak on the grill.” That’s it. That’s the whole quote. But there’s something so refreshingly normal about it – no fussy truffle oil situation, no fifteen-ingredient marinade he’s going to explain for three paragraphs. Just a guy, a grill, and a steak. I respect the simplicity.

A Small Detail That Says a Lot

It’s funny how these “fun facts” lists work. You get one tiny detail – grilled steak – and suddenly you’ve got a mental image of the guy’s whole personality. Low-key. Doesn’t overthink dinner. Probably has a go-to seasoning he swears by and won’t change for anyone. We’ve all met that person.

The Diane Keaton Email He’s Keeping Forever

Now this is where the interview gets genuinely charming. Lacy mentioned an email from Diane Keaton that he treasures – the kind of detail that makes you go “wait, tell me more” immediately. Us Weekly didn’t spell out every word of it in the excerpt, but just the fact that it exists, that Diane Keaton took the time to write him something memorable enough that he’s holding onto it years later, says a lot about both of them.

“When people talk about The White Lotus to me, they typically start [with], ‘We couldn’t stand your character!'”

Keaton has that effect on people, doesn’t she? Everyone who’s ever worked with her seems to walk away with some story about her being warmer, weirder, or more generous than you’d expect. Lacy joining that club isn’t shocking, but it’s still nice to hear.

Why This Interview Actually Works

Look, these list-style celebrity interviews can be pretty forgettable. Twenty-five rapid-fire facts, half of them filler (“I love dogs,” “I’m a morning person,” whatever). But every so often one of these things lands because the person actually has a sense of humor about their own career, and that’s what’s happening here. Lacy isn’t defensive about playing hateable guys. He’s almost proud of it. That’s a specific kind of confidence, and it’s rare.

Think about it – how many actors would bristle at being told “I couldn’t stand your character” over and over on the street? A lot of them, probably. Lacy seems to shrug it off, maybe even lean into it a little, which tells you he understands the job. Making people feel something, even if that something is mild rage at a fictional guy in a linen shirt, is the whole point.

What This Actually Means

At the end of the day (okay, I said I wouldn’t use that phrase, but it fits), this is a guy who’s built a niche around being extremely good at playing people you’d never want to sit next to at a dinner party. That’s not nothing. Plenty of actors get typecast as the hero, the love interest, the guy in the action movie who never messes up. Lacy’s carved out something weirder and, frankly, more interesting – the guy audiences love to hate, who somehow still gets fan mail comparing him to their brother-in-law.

A Mosquito in the Ear is in theaters now if you want to see what he’s up to next. Whether he plays someone likable this time around, who knows. But if history’s any indication, don’t count on it.