Matthew Lillard

Lillard was born in Lansing, Michigan, on January 24, 1970, the son of Paula and Jeffrey Lillard (b. 1948),^[3][4][5] and grew up in Tustin, California.^[6] He has a younger sister, and attended Foothill High School in North Tustin, California. He later attended Fullerton College and then went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California, with fellow actor Paul Rudd. He also attended Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City.

After high school, Lillard was co-host of a short-lived TV show titled SK8-TV, and afterwards was hired as an extra in Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College (1991). In 1994, he was cast in the John Waters black comedy Serial Mom. The following year he was cast in five films, including Hackers, a thriller about a group of high school kids who thwart a multimillion-dollar corporate extortion conspiracy. In 1996, he was cast as Stu Macher in the horror film Scream. He also played Stevo in the independent film SLC Punk!, and supporting character Dennis Rafkin in Thirteen Ghosts. He was originally meant to reprise his role of Stu Macher in 2000's Scream 3 but the plans were changed.^[7]

Lillard was cast as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the 2002 live-action film Scooby-Doo, a role he later reprised in the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. When Casey Kasem, who had voiced the character from the show's debut in 1969, retired in 2009, Lillard was chosen to take over and voice Shaggy in the three subsequent animated series, Mystery Incorporated, Be Cool Scooby-Doo!, and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, as well as every animated direct-to-video film since 2010's Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo.^[8][9][10] Lillard, however, did not voice Shaggy in the animated Scooby-Doo reboot Scoob!, with the character instead being voiced by SNL alum Will Forte.^[11][12] Although Lillard was disappointed with the casting decision, he still wished the film good luck.^[13][14]

In 2011, Lillard guest starred on the Fox series House.^[15] In 2011, he produced and directed his first feature film, Fat Kid Rules the World, based on the K. L. Going book of the same name.^[16] Later that year, he appeared in the comedy-drama film The Descendants.^[17] Lillard also reprised the voice role of Shaggy in the crossover episode in the television series Supernatural in 2018.^[18]

In 2012, Lillard guest-starred in the Criminal Minds episode "The Apprenticeship". The following year, he played the role of Daniel Frye on the American TV series The Bridge. In 2014, Lillard starred as Peter in the animated film Under Wraps, alongside Brooke Shields and Drake Bell. In 2017, Lillard starred as William Hastings in the third season of Twin Peaks. The next year, he began co-starring as Dean Boland on the NBC series Good Girls.

In 2016, Lillard landed the recurring role of FBI undercover agent Luke Goshen in the Amazon Series, Bosch. In 2022, Lillard was cast for the live-action movie adaptation of the Five Nights at Freddy's video game series. The film came out the following year.

He gained renewed recognition for his role as William Afton, a manipulative serial killer, in Five Nights at Freddy's. U.S. entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter stated that he had entered "his Renaissance era" in popular culture, noting that the movie had the third highest ever domestic box office return for a horror film during its opening weekend. Lillard has credited his children as inspiring him both to take on the role and to give a dominating, assertive performance as the franchise's overarching villain.^[2]

In an interview, Lillard elaborated,

"The hard part about playing this part is the pressure I put on myself to honor the fans, to deliver a great performance in an iconic role. There are millions of kids worldwide, and people that started playing as kids and are now adults, that have an expectation that this film will deliver on a really great level. So, being this iconic bad guy, the amount of pressure I put on myself to not suck is pretty extraordinary. That’s the hardest part."^[2]

In 2024, he appeared in filmmaker Mike Flanagan's film The Life of Chuck.^[19]

In January 2025, it was announced that Lillard was returning to the Scream franchise for its seventh entry, having previously played Stuart "Stu" Macher in the first film.^[20]

Lillard was one of the co-founders of Beadle and Grimm's, a company that publishes licensed expanded products, usually of a limited edition, from Wizards of the Coast games including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.^[21]

Lillard co-founded the company Find Familiar Spirits, which develops and sells specialized alcoholic beverages.^[22]

On August 26, 2000, Lillard married Heather Helm, with whom he has three children. They reside in Los Angeles.^[23]

In October 2005, he participated in a Dungeons & Dragons tournament, against members of the Quest Club Gaming Organization, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.^[24][25] Lillard has also played Dungeons & Dragons with the online series Dice, Camera, Action with Christopher Perkins as the Dungeon Master;^[26] as well as with the Critical Role cast at a special one-shot with Sam Riegel as the Dungeon Master.^[27]

• List of American Academy of Dramatic Arts people
• "Scream king" / "Scream queen"