For years, millions knew exactly who Stifler was, but many couldn’t even separate the character from the actor who played him.
Seann William Scott shot to fame with American Pie in 1999 and quickly became one of the most recognizable faces in 2000s comedies. The problem was that success also ended up typecasting him: Hollywood kept offering him characters very similar to the immature party animal who had made him famous.
Although he appeared in films such as Dude, Where’s My Car?, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Role Models, big roles began to dwindle over time. He himself acknowledged that for years he worried about being remembered only as Stifler and had to learn to live with that association.
His career also went through a difficult period in 2011, when he voluntarily checked into a treatment center for personal and health issues he preferred to keep private. Shortly afterward, he returned to work to film American Reunion.
Seann never stopped acting completely, but chose a much more low-key life and more occasional projects. Years later, he says he no longer feels the need to chase fame: after having been one of the most recognizable faces of his generation, today he prefers to work and quietly return home to his family.