Matthew Lillard was convinced he'd never work again during his "darkest days"

He told PEOPLE magazine: "So much of your life, you're just fighting to get your next job. You're just climbing a ladder to find success, to do good work, to feed your kids. "When you get to a benchmark like the 30th anniversary, you have to stop and assess how far you've come.

"I would say to that kid 30 years ago, 'Hang in there, it's all going to work out for the best.'

"Even in the darkest days, there are moments in my career I never thought I'd work again."

Matthew, who will reprise his role as Stu Macher in the upcoming seventh film in the franchise, insisted that such highs and lows aren't a rarity in the film business.

He added: "We see that in this career. We see that you have a moment of relevance and then it dissipates, and you're forced to ask the question of, 'Who are you and what are you going to do next?'

"I asked those questions because I didn't know if I'd ever get a chance to come back."

However, Matthew is enjoying a "lovely" renaissance in his fortunes, and he's grateful to still be working.

He said: "I have had this moment that I'm in the middle of right now, which is this sort of renaissance for my career, and it's been really lovely.

"It's just a moment to stop and reflect through thick or through thin, through good days and bad, how lucky I've been and how blessed I am in this career.

"The idea that I'm still an artist, I'm still an actor."