Matthew Lillard on SCOOBY-DOO 2’s Disappointment: “I Thought I’d Never Work Again”

Matthew Lillard made a name for himself in the 90s, with roles in many era-defining films, such as Serial mom, Crazy love, Hackers, SLC Punk!, She is all of thisand, of course, the Cry franchise, which launched him into another realm of stardom.

He was getting roles one after another and was successful. Things didn’t slow down over the next decade. He personified the iconic cartoon character Shaggy in live-action Scooby-Doo films and acted in comedies such as Without paddle along with other A-listers of the time.

After the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was released, giving him his largest salary to date, Lillard believed his career would take a higher trajectory, but after the flop, he feared the worst.

As the offers and roles continued, the caliber diminished and the actor felt he might never work again, at least in the way he had. He considered accepting an offer to compete Dancing with the starsbut instead decided to refocus his efforts.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Matthew Lillard spoke about that period of his career and his rollercoaster ride, stating:

“I thought I was going to be No. 1 on the movie list for the next 10 years. And the reality is that exactly the opposite happened.”

And then: “I was planning on doing Dancing with the Stars. And I thought if I did Dancing with the Stars I would never win an Oscar. If I do “Dancing with the Stars,” I’ll be famous and not a great actor, and I just wanted to be a great actor. I said [to my agent]’I just want to be an actor. I just want to be in movies. I want to reset my expectations.

He went on to restore his career, starring in some big movies like The descendantsAND Problems with the curveand also made his directorial debut with the 2012 film The fat boy rules the world.

He has had many voice roles in countless animated films and television projects and has had roles in great series Boschas well as returning to the Cry franchise, and finally playing William Afton in the kickoff of the Five Nights at Freddy’sof the Blumhouse live action film, which he is set to reprise.

There’s a lot to look forward to for Lillard, and when he looks back on his entire career, he describes it by saying:

“I’ve been through good times and bad times. I was irrelevant and thought I would never work again.

But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We can expect to see Lillard in the next episode Five Nights at Freddy’s movie when it hits theaters next year and watch out for him in the sports movie A heartbased on a true story and is currently in production.