Scooby Doo star Matthew Lillard opened up about his post-movie journey and why he said no to Dancing with the Stars to keep his acting dreams alive.
Matthew Lillard, 54, shared that after Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed didn’t do as well as hoped back in 2004, he got a chance to join Dancing with the Stars. But he turned it down, explaining, “If I did Dancing with the Stars, I’d be famous but not seen as a serious actor. I really wanted to be known as a great actor.”
Expecting his Scooby Doo success to lead to tons of acting roles, Lillard was surprised when things didn’t go that way. “I thought I’d be top choice for the next decade,” he said, but instead, he found himself struggling to get roles. He admitted that he was “caught up in wanting to be famous” and went through ups and downs, sometimes feeling like he’d never work again.
Still, Lillard pushed through, eventually landing supporting roles in movies like The Descendants and Trouble with the Curve, proving his dedication to acting over just fame.