Mathew Lillard is an American actor, producer, and director. His best-known roles are as Stu Macher in Scream (1996) and Shaggy Rogers in Scooby-Doo 1 and 2. After Scooby-Doo, Lillard seemed to have taken a nose dive as the actor struggled to get leading roles. However, in 2011, he played Brian Speer in The Descendants, enlivening his career once again.
For the most part, Lillard’s career hasn’t been a roller coaster, and the actor puts it best when he said, “It’s hard in this business to go all the way, to be an actor your whole life.” Regardless of this, he has continued to grace us with his presence on the big screen. So, here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about him.
1. His First Feature Film Was Well-received
In 2012, Mathew Lillard released his first feature film Fat Kid Rules the World. The comedy-drama, which is about 90 minutes long, got many positive reviews. It also received a range of nominations, including Best feature film for Youth from Golden Slipper and the Children’s Jury Main Prize. It was also nominated for an Audience Award by German Independence Award. At the end of the day, the film won the Narrative Spotlight Award by SXSW.
2. Mathew Lillard Is A Founder
Apart from being an actor and a teacher, Mathew Lillard is also a founder. He founded Beadle and Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse with his friends Bill Rehor, Charlie Rehor, Job Ciccolini, and Paul Shapiro. He also founded the Mean Street Ensemble company, which eventually folded up when he left Pasadena for New York in 1991. A few years later, he started the Summoners Ensemble Theatre in New York, making it the third company he’s headed.
3. He Attended A Prestigious Private Art School
After college, Mathew headed to California, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena. It’s considered the oldest acting school in the US and a non-profit institution. Another notable American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni is Paul Rudd, best known for his role as Scott Lang/Ant Man in Marvel Studio’s Sci-fi movie Ant Man.
4. His Famous Line In Scream Was Ad Libbed
His role in Scream is one of Mathew Lillard’s best performances. Other than his acting, he was famous for the line, “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me”. Making it even better, this famous line, and many others he’s known for, weren’t scripted. The actor brilliantly improvised the set, and the fact that the lines are still a big deal shows how good he is.
5. Mathew Lillard Once Made Some Difficult Life Changes
It didn’t seem like anything could go wrong for Lillard after he took home his Scooby Doo paycheck. However, a lot did go wrong. Well, a lot could go wrong; according to Mathew, he had pigeonholed himself. Scooby Doo was a Box Office success, but it didn’t bring the big jobs he thought would come flooding in.
Instead, he had no offers besides a slot on Dancing With the Stars, which he believed would be the end of his career. Lillard tried his hands on a TV Pilot to stay afloat while still waiting for the big jobs, but it didn’t get picked up. Eventually, he decided to let go of his accustomed lifestyle. So he sold his flashy cars and house, fired his agent, lawyer, and manager, and went back to teaching.
6. Mathew Lillard Doesn’t Mind Playing Donald Trump
A Twitter user once placed a picture of Mathew Lillard side by side with former President Donald Trump, and the text read, “There will be many movies about the Trump regime. Matthew Lillard better gets one of them.” Mathew Lillard playfully replied, “This is the meanest thing the internet has EVER said to ANYONE, ever. And I’m available.” Jokes aside, some fans believe it would be an Oscar performance.
7. He Won An Award For Favorite Fart In A Movie
Altogether, Mathew Lillard has received 3 awards and 12 nominations throughout his career. His wins include an award for Narrative Spotlight, Best Actor in SLC Punk, and Favorite Fart in a Movie for his role in Scooby Doo. Yes, once upon a time, actors received awards for passing out gas.
Unfortunately, the humorous award was discontinued. The last recipient of the award was Anthony Anderson for the movie Kangaroo Jack. Anderson even made an incredible entrance when he received the award sitting on the back of a Camel in 2004.
8. He’s Got Two Movies In The Works
There’s a lot of back and forth on whether Mathew Lillard will make a comeback on Scream. Seeing as his character, Stu, got his head bashed in, that seems highly unlikely. However, his voice cameo in Scream (2022) got fans talking about the possibilities, but nothing has been confirmed so far.
Regardless, there are two movies in his future to watch out for, and one is a horror movie titled Five Nights At Freddy’s. The star is already well known for his exceptional performance in the horror genre. So there’s a lot of excitement and anticipation.
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