When Matthew McConaughey landed his first-ever film role in 1993's Dazed and Confused, he initially had only three lines. But director Richard Linklater dug McConaughey's chilled-out Texas swagger so much, he decided to give his character full-fledged scenes which included now-iconic lines McConaughey made up himself, most notably: "Alright, alright, alright," and "It'd be a lot cooler if you did," and "You just gotta keep livin', man. L-I-V-I-N."
Watching the breakout performance from the sidelines, the film's editor turned to the producer and said, "This is a movie star" — words which became prophecy.
McConaughey was a celebrity heartthrob by the mid-aughts, pinned as the go-to casting choice for the suave and womanizing bachelor character. But he managed to break free from his rom-com chains and land powerful roles in some of the most renowned films and series ever made, including his Academy Award-winning turn in 2013's Dallas Buyers Club.
Along the way, his low country roots kept him grounded as a famously un-Hollywood brand of movie star, and the adage he coined during his first role, "You just gotta keep livin', man," would inform everything he did thereafter.
He calls it the "jkl" philosophy.
"There's a 'just keep living' decision with every single thing that I do," McConaughey says. "I could also argue that every character I play is a 'just keep living' character."
These days, the Oscar-winning icon runs a charitable foundation and a production company both named — what else? — Just Keep Living. He also teaches a film class at his alma mater, The University of Texas at Austin, and is in talks to star in an untitled Yellowstone sequel currently in pre-production.
Stick around and join us as we take a look back at 10 of his greatest 'just keep living' characters — it'd be a lot cooler if you did.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Mary Cybulski/Paramount
McConaughey had only a small role in Scorsese's biographical black comedy film about the high-stakes world of stockbroking, but he made a lasting impression on audiences as Mark Hanna, a senior stockbroker and bad guy mentor to Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio).
His monologue about the importance of projecting confidence, taking risks, and, of course, indulging in hard drugs and cheating on your wife was an absurdly funny take on the decadence and depravity of Wall Street in the late '80s and early '90s. Frat guys are still recreating McConaughey's infamous "chest-thumping" bit a decade later.
Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Saeed Adyani/Lakeshore Entertainment Group LLC and Lionsgate Films Inc.
McConaughey's role as an unorthodox and morally ambiguous lawyer, Mick Haller, kicked off what pop culture purveyors came to call the McConaissance - a string of serious roles in the early 2010s that saw McConaughey emerge from the hot and steamy vat of rom-com cheese that had defined his career in the aughts.
It took McConaughey two years to nab a lead role in a serious film after his romantic dramedy tour, and he relishes the opportunity, effortlessly injecting his signature wit and charisma - and, with more effort, a dash of vulnerability - to craft Mick's transformation from amoral opportunist to crusader for justice. And of course, inspire the Netflix Lincoln Lawyer series.
A Time to Kill (1996)
Getty
McConaughey plays the role of Jake Brigance, a young southern lawyer representing a black man who murdered the white men who assaulted his daughter.
The '90s held a far less cynical attitude toward lawyers in the courtroom drama, and in contrast to his role as the Lincoln Lawyer in 2011, this McConaughey law eagle is a clear-cut good guy, brimming with heroic idealism. It's the perfect character and setting for McConaughey to deliver some stellar courtroom monologues imbued with a healthy dose of country charisma.
Magic Mike (2012)
Claudette Barius/Warner Bros
Assuming the role of Dallas, the electrifying owner and emcee of the Xquisite Strip Club, McConaughey took his jacked physique out for a final hurrah before melting it off to play an AIDS victim in Dallas Buyers Club.
While the bodies of the male strippers hogged most of the attention, Magic Mike is far more than a flashy vehicle for hunky eye candy — it explores themes of ambition, self-discovery, and the struggle to find one's purpose in a nation reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. McConaughey wields his gravelly voice and piercing gaze to command the screen and lure us into Dallas's darkly seductive world.
Killer Joe (2011)
Voltage Pictures
This is the most vile McConaughey has ever been on screen. Killer Joe is his only appearance in an NC-17 film - and this black-as-night thriller earns every bloody scrap of its rating. McConaughey plays the titular Joe Cooper, a cop who moonlights as a hitman hired by a drug dealer to kill the mother who stole his goods. Joe's reward for taking out mommy dearest? A night with the drug dealer's sister.
It's a lot of wickedness to consume at once (there's a scene involving a chicken leg that's particularly gruesome), so it won't be for everyone. But those who can stomach the brutality will see McConaughey as they've never seen him before.
Interstellar (2014)
Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros
As a former NASA pilot pulled back into the game to lead a mission across the galaxy in search of a new planet for humans to call home, McConaughey became the emotional tether that prevented Director Christopher Nolan's dizzying and cerebral sci-fi epic from spinning off into deep space.
McConaughey's magnetic presence transitions from quiet introspection to intense determination, capturing the complexities of a father torn between his obligation to the future of humanity and his desire to be with his children.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
The film that started it all. McConaughey's trajectory toward becoming a household name launched with his portrayal of David Wooderson, a laid-back and charismatic twentysomething who still hangs around the high school kids. While Wooderson's refusal to give up the hard-partying ways of his youth could come off as sad and desperate (Linklater even expressed fears McConaughey was too good-looking to play a creep) the no-name McConaughey brought a gravitas to the role that forced Linklater to rewrite it closer to the heart of the film. By the end, Wooderson steals the show as the most complex and interesting character and delivers some surprisingly insightful slacker wisdom on the importance of enjoying life and not taking things too seriously - it doesn't get more McConaughey than that.
Mud (2012)
Jim Bridges/Roadside Attractions
The McConaissance rolled full-speed ahead with his haunting and mesmerizing portrayal of Mud, a mysterious fugitive hiding on a secluded island in the Mississippi River. If there were any role that would challenge the rom-com typecasting he'd made it his mission to escape, it was the grimy and weathered Mud.
Despite Mud's gritty exterior, McConaughey uses his rugged charm to lay bare a kindness and longing for redemption hidden within the violent drifter. And he's aided by an easy chemistry with his co-stars Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland, who play the young boys Ellis and Neckbone.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Anne Marie Fox/Focus Features
McConaughey shocked audiences with the amount of weight he lost to fill the cowboy boots of Ron Woodrof, the real-life antihero who went from homophobe to unlikely leader of the 1980s Texas gay community after contracting AIDS and providing unapproved medications to HIV-positive individuals.
The extreme weight loss showed McConaughey's commitment to the role, but it was his vulnerability that allowed him to portray Woodruf's transformation with such depth - a feat that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
True Detective (2014)
Lacey Terrell/HBO
McConaughey plays Rustin "Rust" Cohle, a grizzled and brooding former detective recalling an especially heinous case he'd worked in 1995. Rust sucks down Lone Stars and spits out nihilistic monologues as he unravels the complex case and personal tragedies that shaped his enigmatic, tormented soul.
The role further solidified McConaughey's reputation as a top-tier actor capable of delivering nuanced and captivating performances and earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Not a movie, but impossible not to include.
