No list of great character actors would be complete without Matthew Lillard’s name. He’s the kind of actor who brings his A-game to whatever material he’s given, whether that’s a dopey horror movie or an ambitious sci-fi thriller. He’s played a movie inspired serial killer, a reality TV star, and an alcoholic journalist. But there’s one role he keeps coming back to – a goofball with a canine best friend and a fear of ghosts.

Yup, Lillard played Shaggy in the 2002 and 2004 live action Scooby Doo films, Scooby-Doo and Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. His manic energy and elastic face made him the perfect embodiment of a cartoon character, and since then he’s been called on to reprise the role in dozens of Scooby Doo incarnations. He’s about to play Shaggy again in a new cartoon series set to debut on Boomerang this week, so we managed to grab some time to talk to him about imaginary dogs, beloved characters, and, well, some other stuff, too…

Be Cool, Scooby Doo! is just about to hit our screens. Can you tell us a bit about it to kick things off?

Yeah, you know, it’s the same characters we’ve known and loved for the past 40 years, but it’s a new take in that it’s much sharper and faster, and I think it’s funnier than we’ve ever seen it. It’s very Marx Bros in tone – it’s witty, and they’re all funny.