by Neil Daniels
McConaughey has learned that you may not get everything in life but that you can get everything you need and be appreciative of what you have. He’ll wake up in the morning and find things to be grateful for and learn that they do, somehow, reciprocate. He knows to be thankful for what he has and to enjoy life. Like a travelling circus, the McConaughey’s split their time between homes in Malibu and Austin. ‘I have a very healthy relationship with time,’ he said to Dennis Lim of The New York Times in 2012. ‘It’s a very unimpressed town because it has an identity.’
McConaughey is enjoying acting and wants to be an actor for hire. Finally, he is getting noticed. He wants roles that are going to scare him a little, that take him out of his comfort zone. He’s also looking to gain more experiences as more scripts come his way.
There’s no question that McConaughey will from now on be careful about which projects he chooses. As with the resurrection of the once flagging career of Robert Downey Jr’s post-Iron Man, McConaughey can now command millions of dollars per film and star in some of the most talked about and popular Hollywood films. Careers constantly rise and fall in Hollywood. Nicolas Cage, a once popular and respected actor who often starred in unconventional, on the edge roles, has seen his career flagging in recent years due to poor decision-making. Lindsey Lohan wasn’t helped by a seemingly bad attitude and an overindulgent personal life; films like Herbie: Fully Loaded didn’t help her either. McConaughey can now be spoken in the same breath as Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington and Sean Penn, with a string of great performances and fantastic films to his name. It will perhaps be the critics who will continue to be surprised by McConaughey more than anyone else. They’d once written him off but are now praising him to high heaven. Such is the fickle nature of the industry.
He’s a character actor as well as a movie star nowadays, but it took twenty years for people to find how just how talented an actor he is. The wave of movies – Killer Joe, Magic Mike, The Paperboy, Mud and Dallas Buyers Club – were all part of an idea that McConaughey had about getting some first-time experiences. He wanted to be excited. He wanted to be scared. He was having much better results than with any of period of his career. His career had been turned around by those bold choices.
Since his turn of fortunes, McConaughey has begun to impress fellow thespians. ‘When he started making choices that were less based on his looks and had artistic integrity, a lot of young actors became very impressed,’ Laura Gardner, an actress and instructor at the Howard Fine Acting Studio in NYC, said to The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes. ‘McConaughey has demonstrated a commitment to his art, to finding that truth in his characters.’
In terms of professional pursuits, McConaughey isn’t interested in anything but acting at the moment. He doesn’t want to produce or direct, even though he has expressed a keen interest in doing so in the past. He wants to choose the right role, make the film and then a year or so later go out there and talk about it, sell it and promote it. That’s his main concentration now. He’s learned how to survive in Hollywood. A cesspool of failed dreams, tragedy and lost hope, and yet also a land of glamour, fantasy and incredible wealth. He knows how to navigate his way around the industry and govern his career by his own set of rules and standards. He doesn’t allow Hollywood to direct him. It’s the other way around.
‘I’m getting much more of an array of stuff,’ McConaughey admitted to Deadline’s Christy Grosz. ‘It’s not of one specific genre. That’s what’s really fun now. I’m getting to choose. People are going, “OK, so you want to do dramas?” Yeah, I’m enjoying the dramas, but keep that comedy coming! That stuff’s fun, man!’
Matthew McConaughey has the option to do whatever he pleases and whatever he does he will no doubt surprise himself and his fans. McConaughey has learned to say yes to roles because he feels lucky. He is thankful but he is now being more selfish. There is room for evolution because every aspect of his life is in the ascendant.
He just keeps livin’.
FILM CREDITS
FILM
Dazed and Confused (1993)
My Boyfriend’s Back (1993)
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
Boys on the Side (1995)
Glory Daze (1995)
Lone Star (1996)
A Time to Kill (1996)
Larger than Life (1996)
Scorpion Spring (1996)
Contact (1997)
Amistad (1997)
The Newton Boys (1998)
EDtv (1999)
U-571 (2000)
The Wedding Planner (2001)
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2002)
Frailty (2002)
Reign of Fire (2002)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Tiptoes (2003)
Sahara (2005)
Two for the Money (2005)
Failure To Launch (2006)
We Are Marshall (2006)
Fool’s Gold (2008)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Surfer, Dude (2008)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Bernie (2011)
Killer Joe (2012)
Magic Mike (2012)
The Paperboy (2012)
Mud (2013)
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Interstellar (2014)
SHORT FILMS
Submission (1995)
Judgement (1995)
Making Sandwiches (1998)
The Rebel (1998)
DOCUMENTARIES
Freedom: A History Of US (2003)
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005)
TV
Unsolved Mysteries (1992)
King of the Hill (1999)
Bonne Nuit (1999) (TV Movie)
Sex and the City (2000)
Eastbound & Down (2010-2012)
True Detective (2014)
MUSIC VIDEOS
Trisha Yearwood – ‘Walkway Joe’ (1992)
Butch Walker and The Black Widows’ – ‘Synthesizers’ (2003)
NOTE: Release dates are from IMDB not Wikipedia.
SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PRINT
The Austin Chronicle
Boston Phoenix
Empire
Huffington Post
The Independent
The Los Angeles Times
The New York Times
Orlando Sentinel
Para Todos
San Francisco Chronicle
USA Today
Variety
ONLINE
http://abcnews.go.com
http://www.aintitcool.com
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com
http://cinema.com
http://collider.com
http://thefilmexperience.net
http://thefilmstage.com
http://grantland.com
http://insidemovies.ew.com
http://movies.about.com
http://movieline.com
http://moviesblog.mtv.com
http://tech.mit.edu
http://variety.com
www.austindaze.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.beliefnet.com
www.bullz-eye.com
www.chud.com
www.cinemablend.com
www.thecinemasource.com
www.clarionledger.com
www.crazedfanboy.com
www.thedailybeast.com
www.deadline.com
www.denofgeek.com
www.details.com
www.dvdtalk.com
www.elle.com
www.empireonline.com
www.esquire.com
www.ew.com
www.express.co.uk
www.filmcomment.com
www.filmjournal.com
www.goldderby.com
www.gq.com
www.gwhatchet.c
om
www.hitfix.com
www.hollywood.com
www.huffingtonpost.com
www.iamrogue.com
www.independent.co.uk
www.ivillage.com
www.interviewmagazine.com
www.kpbs.org
www.latimes.com
www.mensfitness.co.uk
www.mirror.co.uk
www.movieweb.com
www.newsweek.com
www.npr.org
www.people.com
www.phase9.tv
www.popmatters.com
www.redeyechicago.com
www.reelfilm.com
www.rogerebert.com
www.rollingstone.com
www.sbs.com.au
www.scotsman.com
www.slate.com
www.standard.co.uk
www.starnewsonline.com
www.starpulse.com
www.stylist.co.uk
www.terra.com
www.texasmonthly.com
www.timeout.com
www.totalfilm.com
www.townsvillebulletin.com.au
www.usatoday.com
www.villagevoice.com
www.vogue.com
www.vulture.com
www.washingtonpost.com
www.wwwd.com
www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk
Thank you to the following journalists whose work was integral in the making this book:
Beth Accomando, Derek Adams, David Ansen, Michael Atkinson, Helen Barlow, Brooks Barnes, Steven Beard, Bart Blasengame, Peter Bradshaw, Simon Braund, Xan Brooks, Dave Calhoun, Alec Cawthorne, Sandie Angulo Chen, Tom Chiarella, Mike Clark, Rich Cline, Jason Cohen, Jason Coleman, Robbie Collin, Dave Davies, Phillip Duncan, Roger Ebert, David Edelstein, Eric Eisenberg, Josh Elliott, Devin Faraci, Phillip French, Caroline Frost, Cynthia Fuchs, Christian Ghigliotty, Owen Gleiberman, Phil & Sue Godsell, Bill Graham, Terry Gross, Christy Grosz, Jason Guerrasio, Edward Guthmann, Stephen Harrigan, Will Harris, Edward Helmore, Christopher Hemblade, Stephen Holden, Skip Hollandsworth, Desson Howe, Sarah Hughes, Evan ‘Mushy’ Jacobs, Dan Jolin, Mark Kermode, Kimberley Jones, Tina Jordan, Simon Kinnear, Robert Koehler, Jeff Labrecque, Christy Lemire, Emanuel Levy, Allison C. Lewis, Dennis Lim, John Lopez, Frank Lovece, Brian Lowry, Beth Anne Macaluso, Paul MacInnes, Geoffrey MacNab, Derek Malcolm, J.P. Mangalindan, Andrea Mandell, Caitlin Martis, Janet Maslin, Tim Masters, Todd McCarthy, Jenny McCartney, Andy Metzger, Charlie Mihelich, Holly Milea, Nell Minow, Elvis Mitchell, Roger Moore, James Mottram, Mr. Beaks, Ian Nathan, Rob Nelson, Lisa Nesselson, David Nusair, Helen O’Hara, Lesley O’Toole, Ann Oldenburg, Daniel Ordona, Dominic Patten, Garth Pearce, James Peaty, George Perry, Jami Philbrick, John Powers, Jessica Pressler, Andrew Pulver, Joe Queenan, Nathaniel R., Christina Radish, Jenelle Riley, Susan Riley, Tim Robey, Brenda Rodriguez, Kelly Rondeau, Adam Sachs, Michael Sauter, Mary Kaye Schilling, Lisa Schwarzbaum, A.O. Scott, Benjain Secher, Alan Sepinwall, Ramin Setoodeh, David Sexton, Caroline Shoard, Tom Shone, Anna Smith, Michael A. Smith, Michael Snyder, John Spong, Peter Stack, Natasha Stoynoff, Kevin P. Sullivan, Amy Taubin, Ella Taylor, Luke Y. Thompson, Michael Thomson, Charles Thorp, Scott Tobias, Chris Tookey, Fred Topel, Peter Travers, Andrea Tuccillo, Jennifer Vineyard, Mike Voorheis, Andy Warhol, Joe Warner, Billy Watkins, Glenn Whipp, Donna White, David Wiegand, Jessica Winter, Susan Wloszczyna and Alan Yuhas.
Thank you also to Chris Mitchell and the staff at John Blake Publishing.
Apologies if I have missed out any names; it was not intentional.
Visit my website: www.neildanielsbooks.com.
An unshaven Matthew McConaughey smiles at a press junket in 2005.
©WireImage
Matthew McConaughey, ever the adoring family man, often says that being a father is the proudest achievement of his life.
@Getty Images
The famous bare chest that won him millions of adoring female fans.
©Getty images
A keen sportsman, McConaughey took part in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic; an opportunity not just to show off his skills, but also to raise millions of dollars for charity.
©Getty images
The LA Dodgers honoured McConaughey with the opportunity to throw the ceremonial first pitch in 2009.
©Getty images
McConaughey poses for the cameras during some charity work for his foundation, Just Keep Livin’.
©Wireimage
The famous Longview Lobo Yearbook photo citing McConaughey’s good looks. He was awarded the ‘Most Handsome’ accolade in high school.
©Filmmagic
Next to his pregnant wife, beautiful Brazilian model and television performer Camila Alves, McConaughey’s dramatic weight loss for his role in The Dallas Buyers Club is very apparent.
©Wireimage
Looking calm and collected with his Magic Mike co-star Channing Tatum.
©Gettyimages
A classic shot of the elegant Hollywood actor.
©ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/ Getty images
At the premiere of The Lincoln Lawyer with his wife Camila and mother Kay, another movie in which McConaughey plays a defence attorney.
©Filmmagic
With his Mud co-star Reese Witherspoon in Cannes, where the film was a favourite for the 2012 Palme D’Or.
©Getty images
McConaughey is certainly no stranger to posing for cameras, as can be seen here by the wall of photographers behind him and his Paperboy co-stars Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron.
©Getty images
A dream come true: Holding the Oscar with fellow winners Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong’o and Jared Leto in 2014.
©Wireimage
McConaughey with his Texan buddy and long-time collaborator Woody Harrelson. The duo missed out on an Emmy in 2014 for True Detective, but for many they were the night’s ‘Best Couple’.
©Getty images
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Daniels is the author of numerous books on music and pop culture, including biographies of Metallica, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi and Journey. His books have also been translated into over a dozen languages. His reviews, articles and interviews on music and pop culture have been published in The Guardian, Record Collector, Rock Sound, Media Magazine and musicOMH. He has also written several sets of sleeve notes for various record labels.
Neil lives in the northwest of England.
His official website is www.neildanielsbooks.com.
Copyright
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