Matthew Lillard began his acting career as a haunt actor.
Scream actor Matthew Lillard
Aged 19, the Scream star ran around scaring people with his “clothes ripped off” during a Halloween event at Knott’s Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California.
Matthew, 55, recalled to People: “I was a haunt actor at Knott’s Scary Farm when I was 19 years old.
“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.
“I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that.”
Despite having been a scare actor, the Scooby-Doo live-action movie actor still gets petrified when he goes through haunted houses.
Matthew admitted: “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.”
However, the actor believes it is “exhilarating” to be scared.
Matthew explained: “I think that that’s why [the horror] industry is so big and so popular. […] 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 theatre.
“And this [is] spooky season, like going to a haunt or going to a local haunted house. I mean, all of that is really why this is such a juggernaut of a holiday.”
Elsewhere, the star said reprising his role as one of the Ghostface killers, Stu, in the upcoming slasher Scream 7 – set to be released in 2026 – was “a risk I was excited to take”.
Matthew – whose Scream alter ego met his bloody end in the original 1996 movie – told People: “I’m nervous, because at this point in my life, the only thing I can do is sort of ruin how people consider Stu. [Especially] if I come back and I suck or I was lame.
“I haven’t seen the movie yet. I don’t know if it works, but it’s a risk. And it’s a risk that I was excited to take. At the same time, I’m nervous to see the outcome. I hope people like it.”
Even so, the Five Nights at Freddy’s actor is confident Scream 7 will be “fantastic”.
He added: “I’m really excited for people to see it. It’s not gonna ruin the franchise, that’s the good news.”