55 facts about Matthew McConaughey for his 55th birthday

Austin, please join us in wishing local legend, jack-of-all-trades, and Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey a happy 55th birthday.

We want to celebrate him by honoring his life with 55 facts — one for every year of life. We did the same thing for Willie Nelson, so we figured it was about time to talk about one of the biggest celebrities in town.

1. McConaughey was born on November 4, 1969, in Uvalde, Texas.
2. His family moved to Longview, Texas, in 1980, where he attended Longview High School.
3. He has two older brothers: Michael, aka “Rooster,” and Patrick, who was adopted.
4. After graduating from high school, McConaughey spent a year abroad in Australia through his local Rotary Club.
5. His Australian host family originally told him they lived on the outskirts of Sydney, but when he arrived, the host family revealed their house was in Warnervale — over an hour away from Sydney.
6. McConaughey enrolled at UT Austin in the fall of 1989 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Radio-Television-Film in the spring of 1993.
7. He began directing and appearing in small, short films while in college.
8. McConaughey met casting director and producer Don Phillips — who would later introduce him to director Richard Linklater — at a hotel bar in 1992.
9. Linklater originally thought McConaughey was too clean-cut for the part of David Wooderson, so he asked him to grow out his mustache.

   

   Gif via Giphy

10. McConaughey’s most iconic “Dazed and Confused” line — “alright, alright, alright” — was improvised on the spot and inspired by Jim Morrison.
11. After that famous line, Wooderson went from having three scripted scenes to a greatly expanded role that took him three weeks to film.
12. McConaughey’s father, James Donald McConaughey, died of a heart attack five days into filming “Dazed and Confused.”
13. After starring in “Angels in the Outfield” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation” in 1994, McConaughey moved to Hollywood.
14. He starred alongside Renée Zellweger — a fellow Austinite — in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.”
15. He slept on Philips’ couch for a while after moving and said the casting director fed him filet mignon and vanilla ice cream every night.
16. Quickly after moving, McConaughey landed a top billing spot in “A Time to Kill” alongside Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kevin Spacey.
17. While renting a house in Austin’s Tarrytown neighborhood in 1999, McConaughey was arrested. Officers found him naked, smoking marijuana, and playing bongos in his home. No charges were filed, and he was released after one night in jail.

18. From 2001-2009, McConaughey largely starred in romantic comedies like “The Wedding Planner,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” and “Failure to Launch.”
19. People magazine named McConaughey its “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2005.
    

    

    Photo by Keith Hinkle, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

20. McConaughey met his now-wife, Camila Alves McConaughey — a model from Brazil — at the Hyde Club on Sunset Boulevard in late 2006. He invited her to get a drink at his house the same night.
21. The pair welcomed their oldest son, Levi, in 2008 and daughter Vida, in 2010.
22. The McConaugheys got married in June 2012, and their youngest son, Livingston, was born the same year.
23. McConaughey grew tired of starring in romantic comedies and almost quit the business because they made up most of his offers. Instead, he took a hiatus from acting from 2009-2011.
24. His return to the screen was in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” followed by titles like “Bernie” and “Magic Mike.”
25. McConaughey joined The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which votes for the Oscars — in 2012.
26. For his 2013 role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” McConaughey lost 50 pounds to appear sickly. His diet consisted of egg whites, fish, tapioca pudding, and wine.
27. McConaughey won an Academy Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” and a Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama” for his performance in “Dallas Buyers Club.”
28. McConaughey’s chest-pounding, money-chanting scene in “The Wolf of Wall Street” was also improvised with the help of Leonardo DiCaprio.

29. In April 2014, McConaughey was named one of the “Most Influential People in the World” in the Time 100.
30. McConaughey was parodied in an episode of “South Park” in September 2014.
31. The episode referenced McConaughey’s popular Lincoln commercial campaign.
32. The same year, McConaughey starred in eight episodes of “True Detective.”
33. 2014 was a huge year for McConaughey’s “McConnaisance.” It was the year he starred in “Interstellar,” which was nominated for five Academy Awards.
34. Also in 2014, McConaughey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
35. Shortly after receiving his star, the McConaughey family moved back to Austin full-time.

36. The move was made even more permanent when they sold their Malibu home in 2020.
37. McConaughey signed on as a professor of practice at UT Austin’s Moody College of Communication in 2015, though he hasn’t taught a class since fall 2019.
38. McConaughey’s role as Moondog in 2019’s “The Beach Bum” was originally offered to Gary Oldman.
39. McConaughey joined as a minority owner in Austin FC in April 2019 — the first season began in 2021.
40. He serves as the football club’s “Minister of Culture,” which makes him responsible for representing Austin at the games.
41. McConaughey is also the “Minister of Culture” for Longhorn football, and the school at large, and is frequently spotted on the field at games.
    

    

    Photo via Matthew McConaughey on Instagram

42. In 2020, McConaughey published his memoir, “Greenlights.”
43. In his memoir, McConaughey calls Woody Harrelson his “brother from another mother.”
44. In fact, the two A-listers might be blood-related, but neither have taken DNA tests to confirm.
45. McConaughey briefly considered running for Governor of Texas in 2021, but ultimately decided not to.
46. Nevertheless, he remains involved in politics, but declines to disclose the party with which he most closely affiliates.
47. Kay “K-Mac” McConaughey — McConaughey’s mother — has lived in his house since at least 2021.
48. McConaughey famously sang an improvised song, “Bless the Mood,” at the grand opening of the Moody Center on April 19, 2022 — both City Editor Figi and Managing Editor London were in the audience.

49. The construction of the Moody Center was privately funded in part by McConaughey.
50. Alongside Camila, McConaughey launched a tequila company, Pantalones Organic Tequila, in October 2023.
51. Naturally, the couple appears pants-less in the brand’s advertisements.
52. McConaughey published a children’s book, titled “Just Because,” in 2023.
    

    

    Photo by ATXtoday

53. City Editor Figi met McConaughey on his birthday in 2023 at a Longhorn tailgate.
54. In the role of Cowboypool, McConaughey briefly appeared in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

55. McConaughey has two confirmed new movies in the pipeline: “The Rivals of Amziah King,” which is currently in post-production, and “The Lost Bus,” which is currently filming.

Which local celebrity would you like to see a birthday feature of next? Let us know.