Matthew Lyn Lillard was born on January 24, 1970 in Lansing, Michigan. As a high school student, he served as co-host of a short-lived Nickelodeon program titled "SK8-TV". Soon after graduating, he was cast as extra in horror-comedy movie "Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College" in 1991. This was followed by subsequent roles in "Serial Mom", "Hackers", and "If These Walls Could Talk" among others.

After that being billed to portray Stuart "Stu" Macher in slasher film "Scream", Lillard earned wider recognition ever since. He continued taking on major parts in a much wider genres of films, naming some were "SLC Punk!", "She's All That", "Wing Commander", and "Thirteen Ghosts". His part as Shaggy Rogers in "Scooby-Doo" and its sequel "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" was often credited as his biggest role to date. He then continued voicing the character in the film cartoon series.

Lillard's produced and directed first feature film, "Fat Kid Rules the World", which was based on the K. L. Going book of the same name, was released in 2012. In the next years, he acted in "Return to Nim's Island" (2013) and "Match" (2014). He, moreover, could also be seen starring in the animation film "Under Wraps".

Lillard has been married to wife Heather Helm since 2000. The couple has three children together and has been residing in Los Angeles.