Matthew McConaughey is an American actor who made his breakthrough by starring in the Richard Linklater-directed coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused in 1993. His first lead role was in the 1996 film adaptation of the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill. The following year, McConaughey played the lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin opposite Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins in the Steven Spielberg-directed historical drama Amistad, and also starred opposite Jodie Foster in the Robert Zemeckis-directed science fiction drama Contact. In 1998, he appeared in the Linklater-directed comedy-drama The Newton Boys. During the 2000s, McConaughey was typecast as a romantic comedy lead in the films The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006), and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009).
In the early 2010s, McConaughey became better known for his dramatic roles. This reinvention was cited in the media as the "McConaissance" and started when he played Mickey Haller in the adaptation of the Michael Connelly novel of the same name The Lincoln Lawyer, and reunited with Linklater on the black comedy Bernie (both 2011). In the same year he played the title role in the Southern Gothic crime film Killer Joe, for which he received the Saturn Award for Best Actor. The following year he starred in the coming-of-age drama Mud (2012), and also played a supporting role in the Steven Soderbergh-directed comedy drama Magic Mike (2012).
McConaughey's next role was as Ron Woodroof in the 2013 biographical drama Dallas Buyers Club. His performance garnered him the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor (Drama), and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. He also appeared in the Martin Scorsese-directed The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. In 2014, McConaughey played detective Rust Cohle in the television crime drama series True Detective and starred in the Christopher Nolan-directed science fiction film Interstellar. The former earned McConaughey a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2015, McConaughey starred alongside Ken Watanabe and Naomi Watts in the Gus Van Sant-directed film The Sea of Trees. A year later, he starred in the Gary Ross-directed historical war film, Free State of Jones, in which he appeared as Newton Knight, a Mississippi farmer. He was nominated for a Women Film Critics Circle for Best Actor. In the same year, he also starred in the Stephen Gaghan-directed crime adventure Gold, and won the Hollywood Ensemble Award at the 20th Hollywood Film Awards and a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2019, McConaughey co-starred with Anne Hathaway in the neo-noir Thriller Serenity directed by Steven Knight, this film earned him a nomination for Worst Actor at the 40th Golden Raspberry Awards.
Film YearTitle Role(s) Notes 1992Chicano Chariots Short film; Director only1993My Boyfriend's Back Guy #2Dazed and Confused1994Angels in the Outfield1995The Return of the Texas Chainsaw MassacreAlso known as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next GenerationBoys on the SideGlory DazeRental Truck GuyScorpion Spring1996Lone StarLarger than Life 1997Contact Amistad 1998Making Sandwiches Short film; Also producer Short film; Producer, writer, and director only1999EDtv 2000U-5712001 FrailtyFenton/Adam Meiks2002Thirteen Conversations About One Thing TroyReign of Fire 2003How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Benjamin BarryTiptoes Steven2005Sahara Also executive producerMagnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Documentary; Voice roleTwo for the Money 2006Failure to Launch TrippWe Are Marshall2008Fool's Gold Tropic Thunder Surfer, Dude Also producer2009Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 2011 BernieKiller Joe2012Mud MudMagic Mike Dallas2013Dallas Buyers Club Academy Award for Best Actor2014InterstellarCooper20152016Free State of JonesKubo and the Two StringsBeetleVoice roleSingGoldAlso producer20172018White Boy Rick 2019 Serenity Moondog Between Two Ferns: The Movie HimselfCameo Also co-producer 2021 Sing 2Voice role2022 Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story Narrator Documentary 2024 Deadpool & Wolverine Cowboypool Voice cameo Sing: ThrillerVoice role; short film 2025 The Rivals of Amziah King The Lost Bus Kevin McKay
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1992Unsolved MysteriesEpisode: #5.121999King of the HillVoice role; episode: "The Wedding of Bobby Hill"2000Sex and the City Himself Episode: "Escape from New York"2003Freedom: A History of US Charles Fenno Hoffman / Alexander H. Stephens / Captain W. W. Wood / Andrew Johnson / John Swinton / Mark TwainVoice role; 6 episodes2003–2015Saturday Night Live Himself (host) 2 episodes2010–2012Eastbound & Down 3 episodes2014True Detective Season 1; also executive producer2023Agent ElvisElvis Presley Voice role; also executive producer2026BrothersHimself Main role; also executive producer
Music videos YearTitleArtistRole1992"Walkaway Joe" ft. Don HenleyWalkaway Joe1994"Life in Vain" Man with shovel1996"Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" Male lead2012"Synthesizers" and The Black Widows2024"Nine Ball"Male lead
Video games YearTitleRoleNotes2027ExodusC.C. OrlevVoice
See also List of awards and nominations received by Matthew McConaughey
References
External links