Matthew McConaughey Quotes
American actor
Matthew McConaughey was american actor from the United States. Born November 4, 1969 in Uvalde, Texas, youngest of three boys.
“Be brave, take the hill, but first, answer the question: what is my hill?”— Matthew McConaughey
From his 2015 University of Houston commencement speech, where he laid out 13 life truths drawn from his own years of stumbling.
The Story of Matthew
Uvalde to Longview
Born November 4, 1969 in Uvalde, Texas, youngest of three boys. His father Jim ran an oil pipe business and had played pro football. His mother Kay taught kindergarten. The family settled in Longview. His parents divorced twice and married three times. Matthew grew up watching that storm, learning early that love is stubborn work.
A Bar in Austin
At eighteen he shipped off to Australia, washing dishes and shoveling chicken manure for a year. Back home he studied film at UT Austin. In 1992 he met casting director Don Phillips at the Hyatt bar. Days later he was on the set of Dazed and Confused. His role kept growing. His first line, ad-libbed, was: alright, alright, alright.
The Unbranding
After years of romantic comedies that paid for the beach house, he walked away. For twenty months he took no work. He turned down a 14.5 million dollar rom-com offer. Then the calls came: Mud, Killer Joe, Magic Mike. In 2014 he won the Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club after losing nearly fifty pounds to play Ron Woodroof.
Just Keep Livin
He married Camila Alves in 2012. They raised three kids on a Texas ranch. In 2020 he published Greenlights, written in fifty-two days at a desert compound, drawn from journals he had kept since fourteen. He teaches film at UT Austin now, where he once walked in not knowing what he wanted to be.
Related Mentors
More inspiring leadership figures
Get daily motivation from Matthew McConaughey and 500+ other mentors matched to your struggles.
Download Free AppLast updated: