What has Matthew Lillard Been Doing Lately?

Back in the 90s, it felt like we were seeing Matthew Lillard all the time, and to be completely honest, a lot of people were loving it since this actor brought a great deal of energy to the screen when he was younger and a well-defined look that plenty of folks felt made him a truly up and coming type of star. It wasn’t until around the 2000s that the metaphorical wheels came off, or at the very least started to slow down a bit since Lillard’s youthful exuberance started taking on a different look and feel. Let’s be realistic here, he didn’t vanish or simply go away, especially since playing the part of Shaggy in Scooby-Doo became one of his most well-known roles, but his fame did die down a bit since after Without a Paddle, or possibly a little before, things were changing in a way that made it clear that Lillard’s career wasn’t quite the fun spectacle it had been up to that point. As someone that happens to like his acting, it’s very easy to say as he’s gotten older he’s diversified quite a bit and definitely matured from the type of actor he used to be. 

Take into account his time in SLC Punk, Scream, Hackers, and other projects he did when he was younger and pit them against projects that he’s done in the recent past and you’ll see that Lillard has changed quite a bit over the years, as age does tend to do this with a lot of people. But while some might think that he’s lost his touch, the truth is that he’s become a more distinguished and serious actor than he used to be, though he’s no less skilled because of this. I can admit, as a lot of people probably can, to laughing and enjoying his characters in past movies. Cereal from Hackers was definitely one of his best roles since he was given the chance to be wild and crazy in a movie that wasn’t entirely serious but was still something made for those that wanted to see something fun and engaging. 

That’s the thing with Lillard, a lot of people still remember his fun and energetic days, and while those aren’t completely gone, he’s grown up quite a bit and, being that he’s reached his 50s at this point it’s fair to state that he’s not going to be bouncing around the set like he used to. But that doesn’t mean his career is over since the truth is that he’s kept quite busy over the years. In fact, his time with the Scooby-Doo franchise has taken up a lot of his time, but he’s still managed to find a great deal of time to spend pursuing other roles as well. What’s kind of funny is that while he played the obnoxious character of Brock Hudson on the original movie She’s All That, he did come back for the gender-swapped version, He’s All That, as Principal Bosch. That is rather amusing really since Brock was one of his most annoying and conceited characters, but he’s also one of the most memorable. 

To this date, Matthew is still working and still taking on roles that keep him visible as a part of the industry, but noticing him as often is dependent upon those that still enjoy his acting and have been following him for years. While he’s stuck with the Scooby-Doo franchise for a long time now, he’s become a very serious actor that has gone on to take roles that are a far cry from what he did back in the 90s and 2000s, and it’s been quite impressive, to be honest since the evolution of one actor or another usually brings a bit of interest to a lot of people, especially if they were able to see the actor when they were first starting out. There was a rumor that Lillard wanted to bring back the character of Stu from Scream, but not only does that feel unlikely, since Stu had a TV dropped on his head, but it’s also one of those reveals that might derail a movie rather than help it. Interestingly enough, he does have an entry on his IMDb page for Scream 2 as a guy at a party, which is a clever and sneaky cameo. He also made it into Scream 4 as an uncredited extra, which is amusing to see. 

The main point of all this is that Lillard has done quite a bit during his career and it’s likely that a lot of folks have only noticed a certain amount of it while missing a good portion of what he’s done. Matthew has been staying busy over the years and hasn’t slipped from show business in any sense, but he’s definitely taken on projects that aren’t quite as noticeable at times. But despite that, he’s still a great actor that has kept his career moving forward.