Best Matthew Lillard Movies (December 2025)

Matthew Lillard first broke into show business as the host of the 1990 Nickelodeon program SK8 TV. Four years later, he had his first feature film role, playing Kathleen Turner’s son, Chip, in John Waters’ Serial Mom. These diverse beginnings would set the tone for Lillard’s career.

There is really no single word that can define Matthew Lillard and his filmography but ‘eclectic.’ He has performed in both silly children’s movies and brutal horror films. He has also appeared in many arthouse independent films alongside some of the greatest actors of all time. Indeed, Lillard may have defined his career best when he quipped, “I’ve done Shakespeare and here I am having farting contests with an imaginary dog!”

Best Matthew Lillard Movies as of 2025

Quentin Tarantino may not be a fan, but it is safe to say that Matthew Lillard is doing something right to have worked steadily for over three decades. However, the sheer variety of his work does make it difficult to declare any of performances “the best.” With that in mind, the following list includes both Lillard’s most surprising performances and his most definitive.

Hackers (1995)

Fresh off a seven-year sentence forbidding him accessing any computers, 18-year-old Dade “Zero Cool” Murphy joins a group of hackers at his new school. They all wind up in hot water when a stunt uncovers a scheme by a hacker turned security officer called “The Plague.” This leads to a race against time to clear their names and prevent an environmental disaster.

Hackers was a box-office bomb upon release, despite being praised by real-world hackers for its realism in depicting the cyberpunk subculture. It later became a cult hit, and is also remembered today as Angelina Jolie’s first starring role. Some have argued, however, that Matthew Lillard steals the show as the hacker called Cereal Killer.

While Hackers was written as an ensemble piece, Cereal Killer is easily the standout character. Apart from Dade and Jolie’s “Acid Burn,’ ‘Cereal Killer has the most direct role in the action. It is he who recruits Dade to join the team and he also confronts “The Plague” to set him up in the finale. Beyond the scripting, however, Matthew Lillard took what could have been a one-note character and filled it with hidden depths.

Scream (1996)

Scream was not expected to be a hit in 1996, much less the start of an iconic horror franchise. It was written by Kevin Williamson as a satire of the slasher genre. Ironically, it would ultimately be directed by A Nightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven and serve to secure his reputation as the master of modern comedic horror.

The story centers around a serial killer dubbed Ghostface, who is attacking teenagers in Woodsboro, California. Also central to the plot is Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who is coping with both the anniversary of her mother’s murder and an intrusive journalist who thinks the man convicted of the murder is innocent. The two stories come together, as Sidney becomes Ghostface’s next target.

Matthew Lillard appeared in Scream as Stuart “Stu” Macher. He was the best-friend of Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy, and the boyfriend of her best friend, Tatum. Stu turns out to be much more, however, in the film’s climax. Indeed, Lillard manages a truly horrific transformation, proving he was capable of playing more than simple comic relief roles.

SLC Punk (1998)

It is 1985 and Stevo is trapped in Salt Lake City. This would be bad enough, but Stevo is a punk. At least, he’s trying to be a punk.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to be a rebel when your parents are former hippies and generally supportive of your life choices. Even if those choices involve squatting in a crummy apartment and hanging out with a guy called Heroin Bob. (Ironically, Heroin Bob is afraid of needles.) Despite this, Stevo is determined not to sell-out or buy-in. But will he avoid growing up?

SLC Punk was the opening night feature at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. It was not a big financial success or a critical darling. The one thing most critics agreed upon, however, was that Matthew Lillard’s performance as Stevo was the strongest aspect of the movie. Lillard himself considers Stevo one of his best roles, calling it “the proudest piece of acting” he had ever done.

Scooby-Doo (2002)

For many years, the Mysteries Inc. gang explored a lot of abandoned houses and exposed many criminals disguised as ghosts. That changed one night when the long-repressed issues of the team came to a boil. Suddenly, they were all going their separate ways, except for Shaggy Rogers and his best pal, Scooby-Doo.

Two years later, the gang are all invited to Spooky Island; a horror-themed resort that is apparently the victim of a demonic curse. Despite Scooby and Shaggy’s best efforts to get the team back together, Velma, Daphne, and Fred are each determined to solve the case on their own. Unfortunately, this time, the demons and their curse are quite real. And if they are going to save the day, Mysteries Inc. will have to learn how to work together again.

Written by James Gunn, the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie was intended to be an ensemble piece. However, Matthew Lillard stole the movie as Shaggy. His performance went beyond simply doing a top-notch impression of Casey Kasem’s voice. Lillard got into the heart of Shaggy’s character, developing him into something beyond the ever-hungry coward of the classic cartoons.

Lillard’s performance earned him the respect of one notable fan; Casey Kasem. Indeed, when Kasem was forced to step down from the role due to health issues in 2009, he specifically asked Matthew Lillard to take over the role in animation. The torch was passed in 2010’s Scooby Doo: Mysteries Incorporated, where Kasem voiced Shaggy’s father, Colton Rogers. Lillard has been the official voice of Shaggy ever since.

Match (2014)

Tobi Powell was one of the greatest ballet dancers of his generation. Now a teacher at Juilliard, he is agreeable when he is approached about an interview by Mike and Lisa. Tobi is told that Lisa is writing her dissertation on the dancing community in Manhattan in the 1960s. However, there is an ulterior motive to the meeting.

Mike reveals that his mother told him, on her deathbed, that Tobi was his biological father. Openly homosexual, Tobi denies this, but Mike forcibly takes a DNA sample to test it for sure. This sets up a series of arguments, as Lisa tries to smooth things over with Tobi, and more secrets come to light.

Match is proof of the truism that it is far easier for a good comedic actor to play a dramatic role than for a dramatist to play a funny part. The film, adapted from the play of the same name, is largely a showpiece for Patrick Stewart. Yet Matthew Lillard holds his own and then some against Stewart in an incredibly challenging role.

How we chose the best Matthew Lillard Movies

Variety was the watchword in selecting the best Matthew Lillard movies. The films selected were chosen across a wide swath of his career. This was intended to showcase his most famous performances, early roles that showed his promise, and more recent performances that showcase how far he has come.

Source: Comingsoon.net