- Matthew McConaughey
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Matthew McConaughey 
McConaughey at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011Born Matthew David McConaughey
November 4, 1969
Uvalde, Texas, USOccupation Actor Years active 1991–present Partner Camila Alves (2007–present; 2 children) Matthew David McConaughey (
/məˈkɒnəheɪ/;[1] born November 4, 1969) is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused (1993). He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall. McConaughey is best known more recently for his performances as a leading man in the romantic comedies The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Fool's Gold.
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Early life
McConaughey, the youngest of three boys, was born in Uvalde, Texas. His mother, Mary Kathleen "Kay" (née McCabe), was a kindergarten teacher, and his father, James Donald McConaughey, was a gas-station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business and once played football for the Green Bay Packers.[2][3][4] McConaughey has Irish ancestry[5] and had a Methodist upbringing.[6][7][8] McConaughey's mother and late father divorced and re-married each other several times.[9]
McConaughey moved to Longview, Texas— located east of Dallas, where he attended Longview High School. While in high school, he was voted most handsome in the Longview Lobo Yearbook. He lived for a year in Warnervale, New South Wales, Australia, as a Rotary exchange student in 1988.[10] McConaughey attended the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, where he joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity and lived at The Castilian residence hall.[11] He began in fall of 1989 and graduated in the spring of 1993 with a B.S. degree in Radio-Television-Film.[12]
Career
McConaughey began his acting career in 1991, appearing in television commercials, before being cast in Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused, which became a critical success, garnering largely positive reviews.[13] After appearing in some smaller roles in Angels in the Outfield, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Boys on the Side, the television series Unsolved Mysteries, and as the male lead in the Trisha Yearwood music video for the song Walkaway Joe, McConaughey's big break came as the lawyer "Jake Brigance" in the 1996 film A Time to Kill, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name.[citation needed]
McConaughey was cast in leading roles in many more movies: Contact, Amistad, The Newton Boys, EDtv, and U-571. By the early 2000s, he was frequently cast in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, both of which were successful at the box office. During this period, he appeared as a firefighter in the low-budget film Tiptoes, opposite Rene Russo, in Two For The Money as a protege to Al Pacino's gambling mogul, and in Frailty, cast against type as a serial killer, opposite Bill Paxton. On September 10, 2000, he appears as himself on the show Sex and the City on HBO, talking with Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) about optioning her columns to make a movie.[14]
McConaughey starred in the feature film Sahara, along with Steve Zahn and Penélope Cruz. Prior to the release of the movie, he promoted it by repeating some trips he took in the late 1990s, including sailing down the Amazon River and trekking to Mali.[citation needed] That same year, McConaughey was named People magazine's “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2005.[15]
In 2006, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch, which was reasonably successful at the box office. McConaughey also provided voice work for an ad campaign of the Peace Corps in late 2006. Matthew's production company, j.k. livin, is currently in development on projects with Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. McConaughey starred in the football drama We Are Marshall. He also appeared in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, replacing Owen Wilson after Wilson's suicide attempt.[16]
On January 21, 2008, McConaughey became the new spokesman for the national radio campaign, "Beef: It's What's For Dinner", replacing actor Sam Elliot.[17][18]
In June 2010 it was announced that McConaughey is teaming up with Marc Hyman to develop a scripted comedy for TV channel FX based on material from J. R. Reed.[19]
McConaughey was one of the presenters at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony.
Personal life
McConaughey approaching the finish line in a triathlon, September 2008.
McConaughey is an avid fan of the Texas Longhorns and the Washington Redskins.[20]
McConaughey's personal motto is "Just Keep Livin". His foundation is called j.k. livin foundation (all lower-case), which "is dedicated to helping teenage kids lead active lives and make healthy choices to become great men and women."[21]
Arrest
On October 26, 1999, McConaughey was arrested in Austin, Texas, for resisting arrest following a disturbance in the early hours of the morning and for possession of cannabis.[22] He had been found to be playing music very loudly on bongo drums while nude in his own home.[23] McConaughey denied the drug charges (which were subsequently dropped),[24] but was charged with disturbing the peace. He pled guilty and paid a fine of $50.
Animal rescue
McConaughey rescued various pets stranded after the flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.[25] In 2006, in Sherman Oaks, California, he rescued a cat from two youths who had doused the animal in hairspray and were attempting to set it on fire.[26]
Family
McConaughey with partner Camila Alves in 2010.McConaughey met his partner, Brazilian model and television performer Camila Alves, in 2006, and they are currently living in Austin, Texas. Together they have two children, son Levi Alves McConaughey (born 2008), and daughter Vida Alves McConaughey (born 2010).[27]
Filmography
Year Film Role Gross Domestic Revenue 1993 My Boyfriend's Back Teenage Moviegoer $3,335,984 Dazed and Confused David Wooderson $7,060,000 1994 Angels in the Outfield Ben Williams $50,010,000 1995 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Vilmer $1,860,000 (estimated) Boys on the Side Officer Abe Lincoln $23,560,000 1996 A Time to Kill Jake Tyler Brigance $152,266,007 Lone Star Buddy Deeds $13,090,000 Larger Than Life Tip Tucker $8,000,000 Scorpion Spring El Rojo 1997 Amistad Roger Baldwin $44,020,000 Contact Palmer Joss $100,920,329 1998 The Newton Boys Willis Newton $10,490,000 1999 EDtv Ed 'Eddie' Pekurny $22,362,500 2000 U-571 Lt. Andrew Tyler $77,086,030 2001 The Wedding Planner Steve "Eddie" Edison $60,400,856 2002 Reign of Fire Denton Van Zan $43,061,982 Thirteen Conversations About One Thing Troy $3,287,435 Frailty "Fenton Meiks"/Adam Meiks $13,103,828 2003 Tiptoes Steven Bedalia How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days Benjamin Barry $105,813,373 2004 Paparazzi Himself $15,712,072 2005 Two for the Money Brandon Lang $22,862,049 Sahara Dirk Pitt $68,642,452 2006 We Are Marshall Jack Lengyel $43,532,294 Failure to Launch Tripp $88,658,172 2008 Fool's Gold Ben 'Finn' Finnegan $70,224,196 Tropic Thunder Rick Peck $110,515,313 Surfer, Dude Steve Addington $75,000 2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Connor Mead $102,223,269 2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller $57,130,000 Bernie Danny Buck Davidson Killer Joe Killer Joe References
- ^ Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures, Library of Congress
- ^ http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=GNB&yr=1953&lg=nfl
- ^ http://www.the-kramerfamily.com/1953PACKERS.html
- ^ "Matthew McConaughey Biography (1969–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/66/Matthew-McConaughey.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ "Metro.co.uk". 60 Second interview: Matthew McConaughey. http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=11644&in_page_id=11. Retrieved May 7, 2006.
- ^ "No use putting out the welcome Matt – Movies – NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. May 12, 2001. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/movies/news/article.cfm?c_id=200&objectid=188381. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "Wedding Planner, The : Interview With Matthew McConaughey". google.com. http://google.com/search?q=cache:BXh-tdOKKIMJ:www.cinema.com/articles/62/wedding-planner-the-interview-with-matthew-mcconaughey.phtml+%22Wedding+Planner,+The+:+Interview+With+Matthew+McConaughey%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "Find Articles". Matthew's interview – Matthew McConaughey – Interview. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_n8_v26/ai_18777626. Retrieved April 15, 2006.[dead link]
- ^ "ABC7news.com". Barbara Walters' Oscar Special. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=entertainment&id=3949579. Retrieved April 15, 2006.
- ^ "ONE news". McConaughey credits Australian town. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425826/696966. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
- ^ "The Castilian Dorm Serving the University of Texas Receives Upgrades (PR.com)". Student Housing Planet. March 26, 2009. http://www.studenthousingplanet.com/2009/03/the-castilian-dorm-serving-the-university-of-texas-receives-upgrades-prcom.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ http://utdirect.utexas.edu/registrar/degv.WBX Degrees and Dates of Attendance: MCCONAUGHEY, MATTHEW D.] – website of the University of Texas at Austin
- ^ "Dazed and Confused Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dazed_and_confused/. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "List of Sex and the City episodes – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sex_and_the_City_episodes. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ People magazine: "2005 Sexiest Man of the Year" Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ Matthew McConaughey to Replace Owen Wilson in Film
- ^ "“Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner” Advertising Campaign Invites Consumers to Discover the Power of Protein" (Press release). National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. January 7, 2008. http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/askexpert/pressrelease.asp. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
- ^ Shinn, Peter (January 8, 2008). "Iowa beef producers talk ethanol, checkoff, ID and more". Learfield Communications, Inc.. http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=5B485CD1-D82F-1E37-97BEE903CA6A298D. Retrieved July 2, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Matthew McConaughey Teams Up With FX For Scripted Comedy". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Matthew-McConaughey-FX-1019308.aspx.
- ^ "Q&A: Matthew McConaughey". CNN. September 29, 2005. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/richard_deitsch/09/29/qa.mcconaughey/index.html. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ^ "j.k. livin". Matthew McConaughey. http://www.matthewmcconaughey.com/. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "Entertainment | Actor McConaughey arrested". BBC News. October 26, 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/486051.stm. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Bakker, Tiffany (April 19, 2009). "McConaughey's reel life | The Daily Telegraph". News.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25346513-5006011,00.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Matheou, Demetrios (August 11, 2002). "Matthew McConaughey: Headbutting stars and naked bongos – Features, Films". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/matthew-mcconaughey-headbutting-stars-and-naked-bongos-639678.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Toronto Fashion Monitor: "Matthew McConaughey Saves the Pets.". Retrieved March 25, 2007.
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle: "McConaughey in Cat Rescue.". Retrieved March 25, 2007.
- ^ "Matthew McConaughey, Camila Alves Welcome Daughter Vida". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20333981,00.html. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
External links
- Matthew McConaughey Official Site
- Matthew McConaughey at the Internet Movie Database
- Matthew McConaughey at People.com
- "Walkaway Joe" video Trisha Yearwood, CMT
- Matthew McConaughey's Guest DJ Set on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ Set
- 2008 interview with Bullz-Eye.com
Categories:- 1969 births
- American actors
- American film actors
- American people of Irish descent
- Living people
- American Methodists
- People from Austin, Texas
- People from Longview, Texas
- Actors from Texas
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
- People from Uvalde County, Texas
- 20th-century actors
- 21st-century actors
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