Matthew McConaughey

Matthew David McConaughey was born in Uvalde, a town in Texas, on November 4, 1969. His mother is a school teacher, and his father, now deceased, was a professional football player. After finishing his studies at the institute, Matthew wanted a change of scenery and went to Australia, where he spent a year working washing dishes and living Crocodile Dundee style. Upon his return, he was on the verge of studying law at the University of Austin, but some leprechaun must have advised him against the law because what he did was enroll in film school. Very soon he did some commercials as a model. Then producer-director Don Phillips introduced him to a young man named Richard Linklater , who was preparing to direct Movida ’76.(1993). Although he did get a part, Linklater thought Matthew was too handsome to be a guy who chases after women all day, so the actor grew a beard and long hair. In addition, what at first was going to be a brief intervention in three scenes, became about 300 lines in the script that Linklater was improvising. It was more than just a hopeful debut.

The following year, the young Texan accompanied the then completely unknown Renée Zellweger in one of the sequels toThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre . But it was not until 1996 when he gave the big bell with two films that put him in the eye of the hurricane. The first was the fantastic modern westernLone Star , the work of the prestigious independent director John Sayles ; and the second, the legal thrillerA Time to Kill , adaptation of the novel of racist southern environment written by John Grisham . The film served to catapult McConaughey as the new Paul Newman. Subsequently, the actor joined the cast of prestigious productions such as the scientific dramaContact (1997), opposite Jodie Foster and based on a play by Carl Sagan , and the historical dramaFriendship (1998), a play by Steven Spielberg . However, the box office results were not very strong, and Matthew’s popularity waned to a more moderate height. His only foray into writing and directing work is also from that time, with his short film The Rebel (1998). Subsequently, his filmography grew with a handful of more than acceptable films, and although his presence as headliner was not definitive at the box office, it is true that his prestige was assured: he was one of the four boys ofThe Newton Boys (1998), second collaboration with Richard Linklater; starred in the failed media comedyEdtv (1999), directed by Ron Howard ; was the protagonist of the stupendous war dramaU-571 (2000); and gave free rein to his true character, jovial and carefree in the romantic comedyWedding Plans (2001), with Jennifer Lopez . McConaughey’s talents later came to the fore in the impressive choral dramaLives Counted (2001), written and directed by Jill Sprecher . In a great change of record, the actor marveled this time with his long-suffering character, perhaps his best performance to date.

Lately, this thirty-something Texan has gone on a fantastic adventure with The Empire of Fire (2002), through romantic comedies styleHow to lose a boy in 10 days (2003), and for a mix of both genres with the recent Sahara (2005) . Now he has to release the thriller Betting on the Limit , with Al Pacino and Rene Russo .