Matthew McConaughey has Dazed and Confused to thank for launching his career. But the inspiration for his iconic character David Wooderson was actually closer to home.
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The actor recently revealed that he was inspired by his own older brother, Pat. Specifically, he remembered a childhood image of his brother. 10-year-old McConaughey thought he looked like the coolest human alive.
On the Jan. 7 episode of the podcast "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (hosted by Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson), McConaughey reflected on the iconic film.
He revealed that he auditioned for the part of Wooderson.
He explained, "There's Wooderson and one of the scenes was him sitting outside of the pool hall, talking to his buddies. And girls walk by, and he leans over and checks out their backsides and his buddy says, 'Wooderson, you got to cut that out, man. You're going to go to jail, man.' And Wooderson says, 'No, man. That's what I love about them high school girls, man. I get older, but they stay the same age.' "
But McConaughey was trying to figure out how to play the character. That's when he remembered his brother.
Matthew McConaughey Reflects Back
"I was 10 years old, going with my mom to go pick up my brother Pat at school," he said. "And we're driving through the campus and I'm looking out the back end of that wood-paneled station wagon. I'm looking for Pat. . . . And as we're going by, about 200 yards away, I see this shadowed figure leaning against the shady wall in the smoking section."
The actor continued, "I can see the ember of this lazy finger cigarette hanging on these two hands. This guy's leaning against the wall with his left leg, boot heel up against the wall, smoking. And I went, it's my brother."
Rather than rat on his brother, McConaughey chose not to tell his mom and get him in trouble.
"In my 10-year-old eyes, my 17-year-old brother, who was my hero, in that shot from 200 yards away, he was cooler than James Dean. He was 9 feet tall. He was the coolest man. Now, that's who I based Wooderson on," he said. "That wasn't who my brother was, but that, in my 10-year-old eyes, that's who it was."
So when McConaughey had to channel David Wooderson for the film, he imagined himself as his brother in that moment. McConaughey landed the role after the audition and even got his now-famous catchphrase "Alright, alright, alright." Who knows where he would be now without the role?
