Matthew McConaughey: A Look At His Best Movies

Dazed and Confused's Matthew McConaughey was born November 4, 1969 in Ulvade, Texas. Before starring in the popular coming of age drama, McConaughey had plans to practice law. However, after realizing he was more interested in radio, television, and film, he decided to pursue a career in entertainment. Not long after graduating university, McConaughey began appearing in television commercials until his big break in this next film!

While he was young and handsome, director Richard Linklater almost didn't choose Matthew McConaughey for the part of "David Wooderson" believing he was too handsome for the role! Eventually, Linklater caved and fell in love with McConaughey's charismatic personality. In fact, "David Wooderson" was originally only a small part, but after seeing how well McConaughey was getting on in the role, Linklater expanded the part and even had McConaughey do his own improvisations! 

While Matthew McConaughey may have given up on his dreams to pursue a career in law, he has had the opportunity to play a lawyer on-screen a number of times over the years! Considered his breakthrough performance in a leading role, McConaughey would blow critics away portraying lawyer "Jake Brigance" in the 1996 film adaptation of a Time to Kill. 

Matthew McConaughey would follow his breakthrough roles with a number of successes in the late 1990s including sci-fi drama Contact (1997) and Stephen Spielberg's historical drama about the 1839 slave ship, Amistad (1997).  

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The early 2000s would mark Matthew McConaughey's rise in the rom-com genre. From starring in the classics like 2001's Wedding Planner and 2003's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days to Ghosts of Girlfriends Past in 2009, fans couldn't get enough of McConaughey's charm and gorgeous body! In fact, in 2005 McConaughey was named People's "Sexiest Man Alive"! 

While fans were loving Matthew McConaughey as rom-com's leading man, by the 2010s he was tired of being typecasted and began to shift his role choices in a period Hollywood now refers to as the "McConaissance". To kick off the "McConaissance", McConaughey went back to his lawyer roots in 2011's The Lincoln Lawyer. 

The Lincoln Lawyer would be followed by a supporting performance in another Linklater film, dark comedy Bernie (2011) as well as a leading role in the comedy crime film Killer Joe (2011). Both were met with critical acclaim and the "McConnaisance" was off to a great start!

While many critics may have questioned Matthew McConaughey's choice to take on the part of a male stripper in 2012's comedy-drama Magic Mike, the choice was a successful one. By 2012, McConaughey had established himself as a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood and was invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! We just can't get enough of that killer body of his! 

One of Matthew McConaughey's most impressive films to date was 2012's Mud. Following the story of pair of kids who discover a mysterious man (McConaughey) on a Mississipi island, the coming-of-age thriller was met with critical acclaim and McConaughey had finally broken away from his rom-com typecasting! 

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The first half of the 2010s brought success after success for McConaughey and 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street was no exception! Playing the part of Mark Hanna in the biographical comedy, McConaughey and his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio were met with positive reviews!