Matthew Lillard Reveals Early Career as Scare Actor, Explains the Allure of Fear
A new film role and a surprising career confession have emerged from actor Matthew Lillard, 55, who recently shared a previously unknown chapter from his early professional life and offered insight into why audiences are drawn to the thrill of being scared. The revelations came during an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE ahead of the release of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
Lillard, known for his roles in horror classics like Scream and the Scooby-Doo franchise, admitted that he himself is still susceptible to a good fright. “Last year I went through a [haunted house] at Universal Studios… and I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be lame.’ It scared the bejesus out of me,” he confessed.
But his experience with fear isn’t limited to being a consumer of haunted attractions. In a surprising disclosure, Lillard revealed his first job at age 19 involved creating those scares. “I was a haunt actor at Knott’s Scary Farm when I was 19 years old,” he recalled. “And I ran around the asylum with my clothes ripped off and scaring people. And that’s one of my first jobs I ever had.” He jokingly added, “I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that. That’s a PEOPLE exclusive.”
The actor believes the enduring popularity of the horror genre stems from a fundamental human desire for emotional experience. “I think that that’s why [the horror] industry is so big and so popular,” Lillard explained. “I think that people long to feel things, right? That’s why comedies are great, and horror movies are great, because you feel things sitting in a dark theater.” He connected this to the broader appeal of “spooky season,” noting that visiting a haunt or local haunted house taps into this same need for visceral sensation.
Beyond his acting career, Lillard is leveraging his “scare-king” persona for a vital public health campaign. He recently partnered with Exact Sciences to raise awareness about Cologuard, a noninvasive at-home screening test for colon cancer. The advertisement features a humorous scenario: Lillard cautiously answering a knock at the door, only to be greeted by a delivery person with a Cologuard test, subverting expectations and highlighting that cancer screening doesn’t have to be frightening.
“Colorectal cancer is the number two killer of people in the world,” Lillard stated, emphasizing the importance of early detection. “And so I just feel like… if I could do something, if I can lift the message and sort of change people’s perception of being tested, then it’s a win.”
Lillard’s commitment to raising awareness extends beyond this partnership; he is also slated to appear in Scream 7 in 2026, continuing his legacy in the horror genre.
