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Matthew Lillard said a “longing for ye olde times” was the reason for renewed interest in his past roles, and why he was being cast again.
Speaking on the Phase Hero podcast, he pointed to films from the early 2000s which he said were now being watched more widely than at the time of their release.
“Scooby-Doo 1 and 2 are more popular now than they ever were when they came out,” he told the host Brandon Davis.
“So I do think there is a weird nostalgia thing happening in our industry and in the zeitgeist, because I think people are longing for ye olde times. I think that is one of the reasons I’m having this moment to be honest, is because I was identified in that moment, so people are hiring me again.”
Lillard rose to prominence with roles like Stu Macher in Scream (1996), went on to play Shaggy in the live-action Scooby-Doo films released in 2002 and 2004, and acted in films like She’s All That and The Descendants.
On the podcast, Davis joked that casting directors were looking back to find a “familiar face from when people felt better about their lives” and returning actors like Lillard to the screen hoping it would make “people feel better.”
“That’s why I’m working. I don’t think anyone really likes me,” Lillard replied. “They just missed the old times.”
Matthew Lillard says a ‘longing for ye olde times’ explains renewed interest in his past roles and why he is being cast again (Getty)
Lillard appeared in the 2023 horror film Five Nights at Freddy’s as William Afton, a role that he was expected to reprise in the still-in-development third instalment of the franchise.
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He is currently starring in Daredevil: Born Again, playing the shadowy political fixer Mr Charles. He is also appearing in the second season of the Prime Video series Cross, where he plays Lance Durand.
The actor returned as Stu in the seventh instalment of the Scream series, making a surprise comeback for a character widely believed to have died in the original film after Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott dropped a television on his head.
Lillard is set to appear in the forthcoming Mike Flanagan-directed miniseries Carrie, and the Tony Gilroy-directed film Behemoth!, alongside Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Will Arnett, Eva Victor, and Margarita Levieva.
Lillard returned as Stu in the seventh instalment of the Scream series, marking a surprise comeback for a character widely believed to have died in the original film (PA)
Last year, Oscar-winning director Quentin Tarantino made headlines for saying he “didn’t care for” the Scream star and actors Paul Dano and Owen Wilson. All three instantly received an outpouring of love from within Hollywood.
Lillard was defended by Flanagan, who directed him in The Life of Chuck (2024), as “the goddamn greatest”.
He was also recruited by Ryan Reynolds for a Mint Mobile commercial in which the Deadpool star declared in his voiceover: “There are only two things that are universally loved: saving money and beloved actor Matthew Lillard.”
In February, Lillard said he felt like he was at his own wake after being flooded with support following Tarantino’s comments. “It felt like I had died and was in heaven watching everyone send out their RIP tweets,” he told People. “I mean, it was really nice being a part of your own wake, sort of sitting there living through all the nice things people say after you die.”