Matthew Lillard Shares Sad Theory For Why He's Working So Much Now—And Fans Aren't Having It

Matthew Lillard's acting career has made a massive resurgence in the past few years, including Five Nights at Freddy's and Five Nights at Freedy's 2 in 2023 and 2025, Stephen King's The Life of Chuck in 2024, and Scream 7 in 2026.

While sitting down on the Phase Hero podcast, Lillard spoke at length about his career, where he sees himself going, and of course, his love for various comic book universes.

Because of his lengthy involvement in the Scooby-Doo universe, Lillard has a solid relationship with James Gunn. He's eager to be involved in the DC Universe alongside Gunn, but he feels that all of the parts that he would get to play have already been given to bigger-name actors than him.

But Lillard also doesn't believe his career resurgence and any possible involvement in future projects are due to his talent. Rather, he attributes it to nostalgia and a collective coping mechanism in today's world.

Lillard reflected:

“'Scooby-Doo' one and two are more popular now than they ever were when they came out."

"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."

"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.”

“I think that’s why I’m working. I don’t think anyone really likes me. They just miss the old times.”

Lillard's assumption became popular on X, where fans were eager to reassure him about how they actually feel about him.

You can watch the full podcast episode here:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Lillard is one of those actors who comes across as well-balanced, immersing himself in roles and creating likeable, deeply memorable characters, while also appearing grounded and realistic as a human being.

It's great that he recognizes the nostalgia of Scooby-Doo and the massive weight that the Five Nights at Freddy's fanbase carries, but he needn't minimize how much his talent contributes to his ongoing success.