Matthew Lillard has to 'fight' for roles
Even after years of success, Matthew Lillard has to "fight" for jobs because Hollywood doesn't "understand" him.
Matthew Lillard has to "fight" for jobs because Hollywood doesn't "understand" him.
The 56-year-old actor rose to fame as Stu Macher in 1996's Scream before playing Shaggy in 2002's Scooby-Doo and its sequel Monsters Unleashed two years later, while he has found a new fanbase since playing William Afton in Five Nights At Freddy's in 2023, but he admitted he doesn't feel "valued" in the industry because he doesn't look like a conventional film star.
Asked if he felt "valued by Hollywood" by Tommy DiDario on the I've Never Said This Before podcast, Matthew replied: “No. Not really.
“I think the people who know me, people I’ve worked with are like, ‘Oh, I get it. I get the value. I get sort of the intangibles. But I think what Hollywood looks for is — they look for a movie star. They look for dashing.
“They sort of want to be able to put you in a bubble, right? Or pigeonhole you. I’ve never fit in that little, perfect bubble.
“I’ve always been a little quirky, a little gangly, a lot of energy. I’m funny and silly and at the same time can do drama, and they don’t really know where to slot me.
“But they felt they could replace me. I still fight for jobs now.”
Matthew admitted it is particularly frustrating because his appeal to both younger and older audiences is often overlooked.
He said: “At conventions, my lines are really long, and I think that people really like me.
“I’m in these great movies, but nobody ever equates me with greatness. They equate somebody else with greatness.”
The Life of Chuck actor admitted he often questions why he's not had the chance to get top billing on a major movie.
He said: “Honestly, I’m not like woe is me, but I think about this. I’m like, why didn’t I ever get a shot to be that guy on top of a $20 million movie, or whatever?
“And it wasn’t because I wasn’t popular or didn’t have the chops. It was because they didn’t get me, or didn’t see me as that guy, which, whatever.”
The Carrie actor has always been "competitive" and had a "hard time" with the situation when he was younger.
He said: “I lived with Paul Rudd for two years. I was always in the shadow of Paul Rudd, no matter how famous I got.
"I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Paul Rudd is 10 times more famous than I am.'
“And I have a competitive nature. You have to have that competition in you. I mean, you don’t enter into the NBA and want to be the guy on the bench who never plays. So for the longest time, I had a really hard time competing against other people in my own psychosis.”
However, Matthew has made his peace with the situation now and is “not complaining at all” because he is just grateful to have worked as much as he has.
