‘Barely Ate That Day’—Garrett Dillahunt on That Wild Lanterns Nude Scene

HBO’s DC series Lanterns takes plenty of surreal narrative turns, but one of its most unexpected sequences required veteran actor Garrett Dillahunt to completely disrobe to throw two Green Lanterns off the trail.

Garrett Dillahunt Embraced the “Funny, Weird, and Uncomfortable” Scene

Dillahunt’s character, modern cowboy William Macon, goes to extreme lengths to distract Hal Jordan and John Stewart from discovering the truth about their unassuming town. When the script called for Macon to strip down in front of everyone, Dillahunt admitted the reveal caught him completely off guard.

“I mean, it was certainly a challenge. You know, I thought those days were over,” Dillahunt explained. “I knew that Zoe had healed Macon. He still has the scar from his port from when he was battling cancer, and he became this sort of preternaturally fit old man. And so I felt an onus to try and get as good a shape as I could.”

To pull off the physical look of a miraculously revitalized cancer survivor, the actor underwent intense, last-minute preparation on the day the cameras rolled.

“I worked really hard and barely ate that day and sipped water and ate rice cakes and all that stuff,” Dillahunt recounted, while co-star Poorna Jagannathan joked that his rapid-fire workout regimen kicked off right on the morning of the shoot.

Despite the physical toll and the bizarre context of the moment, Dillahunt credited the production crew for handling the awkward set piece with care.

“It was weirdly—I don’t need to do them every day, but it was a very supportive set and well-lit, and they took good care of me,” Dillahunt said. “And I think the scene works. It’s funny. It’s weird. It’s uncomfortable.”

The scene highlights the series’ grounded yet eccentric tone, blending the detective grit of classic television with the off-kilter world-building of the wider DC Universe. Dillahunt’s willingness to lean into the discomfort ensures the shocking diversion lands with both humor and narrative consequence.

Lanterns Season 1 is currently streaming on HBO, with episode 6 set to release on September 20.