Matthew Lillard credits nostalgia for the resurgence of his Hollywood career.
The actor — known for his iconic roles in ’90s and ’00s films like “Scream” and “Scooby-Doo” — recently argued on the “Phase Hero” podcast that a “bunch” of his old movies remain popular while others, like his ones with Scoob and the gang, are “more popular now” compared to when they hit theaters.
“So I do think there’s a weird nostalgia thing happening in our industry and in the zeitgeist because I think that people are longing for ye olde times,” Lillard told host Brandon Davis, who suggested the actor could be making people feel “comfortable” in a “scary” world.
Lillard continued, “I think that’s 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.”
He went on to tease that he doesn’t think “anyone really likes” him and people instead “just miss the old times.”
“That’s a pretty good reason, though, you make people happy. Come on,” Davis said.
“‘Who should we get? Who’s old and relatively warm and fuzzy feeling. Let’s get Matthew Lillard!’” the actor replied.
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In recent years, Lillard — on top of his continued voice work as Shaggy in recent animated “Scooby-Doo” movies — has starred in the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” film franchise.
He’s also appeared in two “Scream” sequels, “The Life of Chuck,” “He’s All That” (a remake of 1999′s “She’s All That”) and the “Daredevil: Born Again” series.
Lillard told The Detroit News’ Adam Graham last year that he’s “loving every fucking second” of having a moment again in Hollywood.
“It will most certainly wane, but while it’s here, I’m stepping on every set with 35 years of wisdom packed into my aging body,” the actor explained.
“As a kid, I just wanted to be number one on the call sheet every time. I wanted to be Freddie Prinze Jr., I wanted to be Matt Damon, I wanted to be Ben Affleck,” he said. “It just never came my way, and that sort of leaves you with, like, a sadness. I used to have all kinds of jealousy.”
He concluded, “And the reality is, at this point, I’m just happy to have the job and I love the work, and I think I’m better suited at this stage in my life than I was as a kid to do good work. It’s been fun.”
