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Matthew David McConaughey (born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s (including his role in Dazed and Confused, director Richard Linklater's second feature film), he appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact (1997), U-571 and We Are Marshall (2007). He also played the leading man in several romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006), and Fool's Gold (2008). A true original, Texas-born and bred actor Matthew McConaughey stood out in Hollywood for his down-to earth optimism and his fun-loving lifestyle, embodied by his signature catch phrase “just keep livin’.” But McConaughey’s laid-back persona was deceiving, as he was one of the most focused and hard-working of the emerging young actors of the 1990s – in addition to possessing a naturally compelling screen presence. His southern “aw-shucks” charm was popular in romantic comedies, he brought a real-life passion for risk and physicality to adventure films, and he lent expressive features and a junior philosopher’s way of analyzing human behavior to serious dramas. He could play up his handsome looks to essay a heartbreaker or disappear into a timeless everyman. McConaughey survived peaks and valleys as he explored his strengths as an actor and eventual producer, but Hollywood generally forgave him for his trespasses, as his humility and exuberant spirit were as contagious onscreen as off. McConaughey, the youngest of three boys, was born in Uvalde, Texas, the son of Mary Kathlene "Kay" (née McCabe), a substitute school teacher, and James Donald McConaughey, a gas station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business and once played football for the Green Bay Packers. McConaughey has Ireland ancestry and had what he describes as a conservative Christian upbringing. McConaughey's mother and late father divorced and re-married each other several times, in what McConaughey describes as a "loving, but unstable relationship". McConaughey moved to Longview, Texas in 1980 and graduated from Longview High School in 1988, where he was voted the "Most Handsome". Matthew lived for a year in Warnervale, NSW, Australia as a Rotary exchange student. McConaughey was born in the South Texas city of Uvalde on Nov. 4, 1969. He was the youngest son of Kay, a kindergarten teacher, and Jim, a former pro football player who ran a gas station before starting an oil pipe fitting company. The venture was a rapid success, and when McConaughey was 10 years old, the family relocated to the booming East Texas oil town of Longview. It was here that the charismatic kid grew up ingrained with that unique Texas independent spirit and solid values of honesty, respect, and hard work. As a teenager, he was serious and accomplished in school, but attacked his time off with as much gusto, spending his Friday afternoons raising beer money for the weekend party and jumping at any chance for travel-related adventures. After graduating from Longview High School in 1988 – where he was voted Most Handsome – McConaughey signed on for an exchange student program, spending a year living in New South Wales, Australia. His openness and natural gift of gab failed to translate overseas, so for the first time in his young life, he found himself spending a great deal of time alone, soul-searching. Both of his older brothers had gone on to join the family business, but McConaughey was cut from a different cloth — he was the hell-raiser; the big dreamer destined to break away from the pack and who loved movies. With the idea of studying law, he returned to Texas and enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin. McConaughey began his acting career in 1991, appearing in student films and television commercials in Texas before being cast in Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused (1993), after meeting casting director Don Phillips at a bar near the University of Texas at Austin. During this time period, he played the neglective boyfriend in country singer Trisha Yearwood's video "Walkaway Joe". After appearing in some additional small parts in Angels in the Outfield, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Boys on the Side, and the television series Unsolved Mysteries, McConaughey's big break came as the lawyer "Jake Brigance" in the 1996 film A Time to Kill, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. In 1997, McConaughey won an MTV Movie Award for best breakthrough performance for the role. He has also twice been nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. With his performance as Wooderson, a laid-back 20-something townie with a penchant for high school girls and stoner wisdom, McConaughey was a certified scene-stealer in a film with plenty of competition. Linklater immediately recognized his electric screen presence and expanded the role from a few lines to a few hundred lines. McConaughey followed up with supporting roles in more local productions, including “My Boyfriend's Back" (1993), "Angels in the Outfield" (1994), and "Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (lensed 1995), in which his maniacal performance was shelved for two years until he and the film’s co-star, Renee Zellweger, had become famous and there was a dollar to be made. With his optimism and sense of adventure in peak form, McConaughey left Texas for Hollywood in 1995 and gave a breakout performance as Drew Barrymore's by-the-book policeman boyfriend in "Boys on the Side" (1995). Again, his unique charisma brought him considerable notice; his straight-arrow character nuanced by a believable undercurrent of dangerous unpredictability that made the relationship seem plausible. Plenty of directors had their eyes on the promising Hollywood newcomer, with John Sayles first in line to sign McConaughey to play a rising young Texas sheriff in the highly acclaimed drama, "Lone Star" (1996). Joel Schumacher had been searching in vain to satisfy John Grisham’s requirements for a lead in "A Time to Kill" (1996). The role was based on Grisham’s early years as a Southern lawyer, so he turned down all the young A-listers in favor of the virtual unknown McConaughey, who he believed best embodied the spirit of the young lawyer defending a black man accused of murder. McConaughey was suddenly transformed from character player to lead in a Hollywood blockbuster, earning respectable critical reviews in the process. He shrewdly formed his own production company, j.k.livin’, and signed a deal with Warner Bros. As producer, he rolled out his first feature the following year – the surprisingly entertaining documentary about an endurance contest at a Texas car dealership called “Hands on a Hardbody” (1997). It was a pretty down-to-earth move for someone who had incited a near-media frenzy as “the next big thing” and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, but it was becoming clear that McConaughey – who was living in a trailer park in Malibu, CA – was a breed apart from the usual earnest, self-absorbed young stars. McConaughey returned to the big screen opposite Jodie Foster in Robert Zemeckis' sci-fi drama, "Contact" (1997). Unfortunately, the film and McConaughey missed the mark with the ambitious project, in which he played Foster's love interest – a former seminarian now acting as a spiritual adviser to the U.S. president. He was also unconvincingly cast as an 18th-century New England lawyer in Steven Spielberg’s fact-based account of the infamous slave uprising "Amistad" (1997), though the film received mostly positive reviews and brought in strong holiday season box office numbers. A more modern period piece – the 1920s-set "The Newton Boys" (1998) – reunited him with Linklater and showcased McConaughey’s talent to better effect, allowing his natural twang back in the speech of Willis Newton, the brains behind a real-life band of Texas bank-robbing brothers. Having co-produced and co-starred in Sandra Bullock's short "Making Sandwiches" (1997), McConaughey helmed his own, "The Rebel" (1998), before starring in Ron Howard's "EDtv" (1999), a picture which enabled him to draw on his own brush with overnight fame. His good-looking doofus Ed Pekurnay experiences a similar fate when he agrees to let a TV crew document his life for a show that unexpectedly takes off in the ratings. Hampered at the box office by its perceived similarity to the previous year's "The Truman Show," it still offered the actor a chance to carry a picture, and he managed quite well, thanks to the natural zaniness he brought to the part. He switched gears to play a Naval lieutenant helming a daring rescue of a top-secret decoding device from a German U-boat in the World War II suspense thriller, "U-571" (2000), which was a sizeable hit with audiences. In 2002, McConaughey’s devilish charm, comic talent, and good looks were finally tapped for the first of several romantic comedies. He played the love interest of Jennifer Lopez in the wildly popular "The Wedding Planner" and was the targeted subject of Kate Hudson's love-researching journalist in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003), which was a huge hit, largely due to the onscreen chemistry between the likeable pair. McConaughey next served as executive producer and co-star of “Sahara,” an ambitious action/comedy/romance adaptation of Clive Cussler's best-selling novel. Despite its blockbuster ticket sales in excess of $100 million dollars, the film received flak for a bloated budget that constituted financial failure. Further gossip surrounded the off-screen romance between McConaughey and his leading lady, Penelope Cruz – an actress who seemed only too happy to live with her boyfriend in his Airstream trailer. McConaughey’s next outing, “Two For the Money” (2005), earned hardly as much ink, and quietly sank like a stone, despite the power of co-star Al Pacino and male-demographic hugging plot about a former college basketball star taken under the wing of a bookie after a career-ending injury. But obviously the female demographic was paying attention, and in 2005 People magazine named McConaughey its 20th annual "Sexiest Man Alive," calling him a "one-man endorphin rush,” despite his disinterest in using deodorant – preferring, instead, to go au natural. Revisiting his evergreen popularity in the romantic comedy genre, in 2006 McConaughey co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in “Failure to Launch,” in which he played a 30-something bachelor unwilling to give up the benefits of living at home with his parents. Predictably, it was a smash with audiences, but skewered by critics. The fact-based “We Are Marshall” (2006), however, seemed to hold more promise, with McConaughey portraying a football coach brought in to rebuild a school team after a tragic plane crash left the entire squad, coaching staff, and a large group of supporters dead. The tearjerker was a moderate theatrical hit that left critics divided; some feeling that McConaughey failed to dig deep into the role, and gave an energetic but ultimately superficial performance. The following year, it was announced that McConaughey had been cast to play iconic TV detective Thomas Magnum in a 2009 film adaptation of series “Magnum P.I.” (CBS, 1980-88). McConaughey prepped for his impending tropical adventure by reuniting with Kate Hudson for the sunken treasure action-romance “Fool’s Gold” (2008). Later that year McConaughey’s j.k. livin’ production company was slated to release “Surfer Dude,” in which he would play the lead of a surfer undergoing an existential crisis. McConaughey would also be seen in a supporting role in the Ben Stiller comedy, “Tropic Thunder” (2008). McConaughey was cast in leading roles in many more movies: Contact, Amistad, The Newton Boys, Edtv, and U-571. By the early 2000s, he was frequently cast in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, both of which were successful at the box office. During this period, he appeared as a firefighter in the low-budget film Tiptoes, opposite Rene Russo, in Two For The Money as a protege to Al Pacino's gambling mogul, and in Frailty, cast against type as a serial killer, opposite Bill Paxton. McConaughey starred in the feature film Sahara (budgeted at $130 million), along with Steve Zahn and Penélope Cruz. Prior to the release of the movie, he promoted it by repeating some trips he took in the late 1990s, including sailing down the Amazon River and trekking to Mali. In 2005, People magazine named him their "Sexiest Man Alive". In 2006, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch, which was reasonably successful at the box office. McConaughey also provided voice work for an ad campaign of the Peace Corps in late 2006. Matthew's production company, j.k. livin, is currently in development on projects with Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount and Imagine Entertainment and can most recently be seen in the football drama We Are Marshall. He is supposedly in line to star as Thomas Magnum in the 2008 movie Magnum, P.I. In September of 2007, McConaughey was announced to have joined the cast of Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, replacing Owen Wilson for the role. Matthew McConaughey is currently represented by CAA Co-Chairman Bryan Lourd. On October 24, 1999, McConaughey was arrested at his home in Austin, Texas on charges of possession of marijuana and resisting arrest. The police were responding to a 2:30 a.m. noise disturbance call. According to police reports, McConaughey was dancing around naked and playing bongo drums with a friend, actor Cole Hauser, a co-actor in Dazed and Confused (1993). The drug charges were dropped, but McConaughey pled guilty for violating the city's noise ordinance and paid a USD $50 fine. An avid University of Texas football fan, it was rumoured by UT students that he was celebrating after the #18 ranked Longhorns defeated #3 Nebraska 24-20 on October 23, 1999, after attending that day's game. In a press conference following his release, he was wearing a UT burnt orange jacket while speaking to the media where he flashed the Hook 'em sign before leaving. McConaughey rescued various pets, including cats, dogs and hamsters, that were stranded after the flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. In 2006 in Sherman Oaks, California, he rescued a cat from two youths who had doused the animal in hairspray and were attempting to light it on fire. In addition to his home in Austin, he owns a 1,600-acre (6 km²) ranch in Texas. McConaughey is also a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, a high ranked national Fraternity. He is a Washington Redskins and University of Texas at Austin football fan, and he enjoys hobbies such as running, surfing, swimming, and biking. In July 2006, some of his real-life foibles were documented on "McConaughey's Lost Weekend", a blog with photographs of a "three-day bender in Costa Rica." McConaughey was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2005. "Extra, NBC" reported in 2006 that McConaughey admits to wearing no underwear and says he doesn't use cologne or deodorant, because he doesn't want to smell like someone else. He said, "People say I ought to start wearing it." On December 19, 2006, eBay's homepage featured Matthew's picture and named an auction of autographed items he donated to raise money for charity as the "It" of the day. McConaughey is also a die-hard fan of WWE Monday Night RAW, and even claims to have never missed an episode. McConaughey's personal life is the subject of media attention. He has dated actresses Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Salli Richardson, and Penelope Cruz. The two had been together since 2004, following Cruz's break-up with Tom Cruise. He and Cruz separated in April 2006. He is currently dating Brazilian born model Camila Alves. On January 15, 2008, McConaughey announced on his website that he and Alves are expecting a baby. Steven Colbert claims McConaughey to be the sexiest man alive. |
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