After 20 years, Matthew Lillard has come back from the critical and box office fizzle of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
The actor recently recalled the fallout from reprising his role as Shaggy Rogers in the 2004 live-action sequel as he opened up about the ups and downs in his acting career and how he’s found “power outside of just being an actor” over the years.
“I’ve gone through good patches and bad patches,” Lillard told Business Insider. “I’ve been irrelevant and thought I was never going to work again. I’ve been at all aspects of the career, and I love where I’m at right this second.”
Lillard first appeared as Shaggy in the 2002 live-action adaptation of the 1969 cartoon, alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones and Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley. The movie topped the box office when it premiered, grossing $275.7 million worldwide.
Although Monsters Unleashed also premiered atop the box office, it earned more than $90 million less than the original, ultimately prompting Warner Bros. to cancel a planned sequel.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Linda Cardellini and Matthew Lillard in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett Collection
Lillard explained, “I thought I’d be No. 1 on the call sheet for the next 10 years of movies. And the reality was the exact opposite happened.”
Following the flop, the actor’s agents offered him a spot on Dancing with the Stars. He assumed the show would make him “famous and not a great actor, and I really just wanted to be a great actor.”
Lillard ultimately left the agency and went back to his first agent during a time when he decided to “reset my expectations,” going back to teaching acting. He also launched his spirits brand Find Familiar Spirits.
“I went back to looking for other things in my life other than just acting,” said Lillard, adding: “One of the great moments in my life is understanding that I have power outside of just being an actor. That, to me, has been way more satisfying than getting a part in a movie.”
After appearing in Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck, expected in summer 2025, Lillard can next be seen reprising his role as William Afton in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, premiering Dec. 5, 2025 in theaters.