NEED TO KNOW
Matthew Lillard is still close with several of his Scream costars
Lillard tells PEOPLE he is closest to Skeet Ulrich, with whom he recently reunited on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Lillard jokes that he spends “more time with him on the road than I spend with my wife”
Matthew Lillard is still close with his Scream costars, three decades after they first met on set of the slasher-horror film.
Ahead of the release of Scream 7, Lillard, 56, spoke with PEOPLE about the lasting legacy of the franchise and, as a result, their friendships.
When asked about Lillard’s relationships with the Scream cast, he says, “they’re peak for me.”
“I love them. I mean, I see Skeet [Ulrich] all the time. I spend more time with him on the road than I spend with my wife, and he’s become a brother to me,” he shares. “We do conventions a lot. We’re together all the time through thick and through thin, and he’s really become a dear friend of mine.”
Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich in 1996’s ‘Scream’
Credit: Dimension Films
Lillard has been married to his wife, Heather Lillard, since 2000, and they share three kids.
Aside from Ulrich, the Scooby-Doo actor notes that Neve Campbell is “certainly an impactful person” in his life as well.
“We’ve maintained our friendship all these years later, which is lovely. And Jamie [Kennedy], I see Jamie a lot too,” he shares.
Scream came out in 1996, and in addition to Matthew, Ulrich and Campbell, featured Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Rose McGowan, to name a few.
Matthew and Ulrich played the original Ghostface killers, Stu Macher and Billy Loomis, respectively. The pair often reunite, both on and off the screen. In 2025, the pair teamed up once again in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard attend the ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ premiere
Credit: Savion Washington/Getty
When speaking with PEOPLE in September 2025, Matthew shared how he influenced Ulrich’s casting in the Emma Tammi-directed movie.
“When Scott [Cawthon] was considering who to cast for this role that Skeet’s in, he started looking around and considering who — sort of a middle-aged man,” the actor said, referring to the creator of the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game.
Matthew recalled Cawthon asking him, “What’s Skeet like to work with? How is he as a guy?” to which he responded with something close to, “He’s a dream. He’s the sweetest man around. He’s talented, and he cares deeply about fans.”
Scream 7 is now in theaters.
Read the original article on People