Actor
Matthew McConaughey
Interview
Notes from Evan Smith
"With a nailbiter of a presidential election nearly upon us, the economy crashing down around us, and the aftermath of a hurricane sending us scurrying about, we turn our attention this week to more pressing matters: like, the proper amount of cushion in a flip-flop. Yes, it’s finally Matthew McConaughey time here at Texas Monthly Talks, and everything with the world is all right, all right, all right. The Uvale-born, Longview-raised, UT-educated actor is enjoying one of his periodic moments of ubiquity, with a new baby, a new movie with the word “dude” in the title, and a new line of clothing and accessories — merch, as he calls it — set to debut. But does there really need to be a reason to sit down with someone his pal Lance Armstrong refers to as a Redneck Buddha? Since his Schwab’s drugstore moment at the bar of the Hyatt in Austin landed him a memorable role in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and propelled him to romantic comedy mainstay status, the 38-year-old has been endlessly fascinating in a sort of only-in-Hollywood way — whether bongoing naked to the eternal consternation of his West Austin neighbors and local law enforcement; dating a seemingly endless string of show biz beauties, including Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson; parading through Venice Beach, Calfornia, and assorted coastal locations without his shirt — have you heard that he is occasionally photographed without his shirt?; "partaking of the local vegetation" with his pal Woody Harrelson; biking and jogging and cutting up with Armstrong and their other pal, Jake Gyllenhall; or earning a reported $8 million a picture for such stellar silver screen gems as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Fool’s Gold, and The Wedding Planner. Then again, he gets credit for appearing in more substantial fare like Lone Star and Amistad — and here comes the seeming contradiction. The goofball with the zen philosophy is more serious than you’d think, more thoughtful than you’d give him credit for, and more deliberate than his choices would suggest. Fifteen years into his improbable career, he just keeps livin’, as he himself would say. Nothing wrong with that. " - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly Talks, Broadcast 10.01.08