Matthew McConaughey appeared on The Rich Eisen Show to discuss his role as Detective Rustin Rust Cohle on HBO’s crime anthology series True Detective, which is currently on hiatus. When asked if he would return to the series, McConaughey said he wouldn’t hesitate for a second if the opportunity arose. But did you know that he was actually meant to play Marty Hart?
In the first season of True Detective, Matthew McConaughey was cast as Marty Hart. Due to the character’s obsessive tendencies, McConaughey requested a change to Rust Cohle. To study the character’s evolution in the series, McConaughey wrote a 450-page analysis of Cohle.
Who is Matthew McConaughey?
Matthew David McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, on November 4, 1969. He was an early athlete, participating in golf and tennis at Longview High School and being named Most Handsome Student.
Matthew McConaughey received his first significant break after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with the 1993 film Dazed and Confused. He later appeared in many films, including A Time to Kill (1996) and Amistad (1997). McConaughey, named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2005, also starred in Mud (2012) and Dallas Buyers Club (2013), earning him an Academy Award for Best Actor. McConaughey burst onto the scene in 2014 with his starring role in the TV series True Detective, a project that catapulted him even higher on the star scale. (Source: Biography)
Matthew McConaughey and True Detective
Winning the Oscar
Following that Oscar-winning performance was True Detective, a 2014 HBO series in which McConaughey both starred and executive produced. Rust Cohle’s complex role was dark and philosophical, providing the actor with a new arena to stretch his legs. McConaughey was nominated for an Emmy for his efforts and was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. (Source: Biography)
In the biopic Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey played Ron Woodruff, a real-life 1980s activist. After being diagnosed with AIDS and given only 30 days to live, the latter began advocating for and taking a drug regimen that mitigated the disease’s effects. The film was finally made after years of waiting, with McConaughey losing 47 pounds for the role. The actor won Best Actor at both the 2014 Academy Awards and the Golden Globes for his performance as Woodruff. (Source: Biography)
Matthew McConaughey as a Real Life Professor, Spokesman, and a Family Man
McConaughey began working as a visiting film instructor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication in 2015. It was announced in the summer of 2019 that the actor had been appointed as a faculty member to teach a Script to Screen film production class for the fall semester.
Among his commercial endorsements are Dolce & Gabbana and Wild Turkey, the Lincoln Motor Company, which has been parodied by Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O’Brien, and Saturday Night Live.
In 2012, McConaughey married Camila Alves. They have three children together: Levi, who was born in 2008. Livingston, born in 2012; and Vida, born in 2010. (Source: Biography)
Image from Consenquence