A-lister turned down 'DWTS' because he worried it would ruin his chances of someday winning an Oscar
Many stars have graced the stage of 'DWTS.' Some saw this as an opportunity to experience glitz and glamor, while for others, the platform served as a chance to give direction to their otherwise lost careers. But there is one Hollywood A-lister for whom being in the ballroom wasn't worth the risk. Matthew Lillard, famously known for playing Shaggy in the Warner Bros. franchise, 'Scooby-Doo,' opened up to Business Insider and revealed the real reason why he repeatedly turned down the offer to perform on the hit reality TV show.
"I was going to do 'Dancing with the Stars.' And I was like, if I do 'Dancing with the Stars,' I'll never win an Academy Award," Lillard said. "If I do 'Dancing with the Stars,' I'll be famous and not a great actor, and I really just wanted to be a great actor." The offer came at a low point in his career. After the sequel to 'Scooby-Doo' flopped at the box office, the now 55-year-old actor found himself struggling to land new roles. He revealed that the underwhelming performance of 'Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed' led producers to cancel plans for a third installment, leaving him professionally adrift.
He told the outlet, "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." However, Lillard was not the one to give up so easily and knew what he wanted in life. He added, "I said, 'I just want to be an actor. I just want to be in movies. I want to reset my expectations.'" He strategized a comeback no one saw coming. First and foremost, the actor cut down his expenses by downsizing his family home and selling off the luxury cars that he owned. He focused on teaching acting to broaden his source of income. He then founded his own company, Find Familiar Spirits, as reported by Business Insider.
Soon, the actor found his footing in Hollywood with an iconic role of William Afton in Universal's 'Five Nights at Freddy's' adaptation, and was declared a superhit in 2023. The next year, he gave another superhit movie, 'The Life of Chuck', where he played the role of Gus. According to Variety, the actor will also return in Wes Craven's horror movie series 'Scream 7.'
Despite the great comeback, the actor is still battling with his insecurities and is worried about how he would fare in the movie. "I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to come back in ‘Scream 7," Lillard told in an interview with The Miami Student, but in the next beat he added, “My greatest fear is that I don’t wanna be the thing that screws it up, so I hope the fans get a kick out of it and they like what happens and how we go about it.” While Lillard and the rest of the cast remain tight-lipped about the plot, the movie is set to release on February 27, 2026, according to GamesRadar.