Matthew Lillard has a refreshingly self-aware theory about why Hollywood has come calling again, and it has nothing to do with a sudden rediscovery of his talent.
Talking about Phase Hero podcast, Lillard directly pointed to nostalgia as the driving force behind his recent resurgence.
“Scooby-Doo one and two are more popular now than they ever were when they came out. So I think there’s a weird nostalgia going on in our industry and in the zeitgeist because I think people long for you old days,” he said.
“I think that’s one of the reasons I’m having this moment, to be honest, because I was identified in that moment, so people are hiring me again.”
He followed that up with a laugh: “I guess that’s why I work. I don’t think anyone really likes me. They just miss the old days.”
That’s an honest take from someone who’s been through considerable Hollywood turbulence.
After reprising his role as Shaggy in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters UnleashedLillard had expected it to launch a new chapter.
Instead, when the film underperformed at the box office, the opposite happened. He told Business Insider in 2024 that he had become convinced he would be “No. 1 on the call sheet for the next 10 years of movies,” and then spent years feeling irrelevant.
“I was caught up in the success of what I was doing, I was caught up in the parts I was getting, I was caught up in this pursuit of unquote fame,” he admitted.
“I’ve been through good patches and bad patches. I’ve been irrelevant and thought I’d never work again.”
The turnaround began in 2023 when he was cast as William Afton Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Since then, momentum has grown steadily. His recent credits include Chuck’s life, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Scream 7 and Daredevil: Born Again.
When it comes up, he’ll be appearing in Mike Flanagan’s Carrie TV series and plays alongside Pedro Pascal, Will Arnett and Olivia Wilde in Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth.
Nostalgia or not, it’s quite a line-up.
